Access and PreAccess Literacy

Access Logo
What is Access? Who is a student in an Access class?
 
The goal of Access: To teach students how to struggle with difficult texts, how to develop the patience and stamina to stick with a text, how to figure out on their own where meaning breaks down and determine which fix it strategies to use to better comprehend texts. 
 
Students in Access: Access students typically fall within the 4.0-6.0 band of readers. KHSD uses the Instructional Reading Level (IRL) to measure students' placement in these classes. IRL is a criterion-reference score that is the highest reading level at which a student is 80% proficient (or higher) at comprehending material with assistance. Scores are generated when students complete the STAR Renaissance Reading Diagnostic. Students who fall in this band of readers are "reading to learn." 
 
Components of Access:
  • Cross-curricular, non-fiction/explanatory units (leveled texts) 
    • Each unit includes multiple reads with different purposes (prereading, fluency, reading for understanding, and reading for deeper meaning).
    • Each unit employs the "gradual release of responsibility" moving from teacher-led and modeled reading to collaborative and independent practice.  
    • Each unit provides students with multiple opportunities to practice thinking critically and annotating texts.
  • Book Club 
  • Wide, independent reading - high interest library - each Access teachers receives a library of 70+ titles 
  • Common Formative Assessments (CFAs) and Touchstone Assessments - based on the Anchor Standards for the CCSS
  • Multiple opportunities to show growth using the STAR Reading Diagnostic (offered at least five times/year)
 
 
PreAccess Logo What is PreAccess? Who is a student in a PreAccess class?
 
The goal of PreAccess: Similar to Access, the goal of a PreAccess class is to teach students how to struggle with difficult texts, how to develop the patience and stamina to stick with a text, how to figure out on their own where meaning breaks down and determine which fix it strategies to use to better comprehend texts. 
 
Students in PreAccess: PreAccess students typically fall below the grade level 3.9 band of readers. KHSD uses the Instructional Reading Level (IRL) to measure students' placement in these classes. IRL is a criterion-reference score that is the highest reading level at which a student is 80% proficient (or higher) at comprehending material with assistance. Scores are generated when students complete the STAR Renaissance Reading Diagnostic. Students who read at the K-3.9 band are "learning to read." They require instruction in foundational literacy/reading skills including, but not limited to, vocabulary development/word recognition, morphology (how words are formed), identification of text features and parts, and comprehension strategies.
 
Components of PreAccess:
  • Cross-curricular, non-fiction/explanatory units (leveled texts) 
    • Each unit includes multiple reads with different purposes (prereading, fluency, reading for understanding, and reading for deeper meaning).
    • Each unit employs the "gradual release of responsibility" moving from teacher-led and modeled reading to collaborative and independent practice.  
    • Each unit provides students with multiple opportunities to practice thinking critically and annotating texts.
  • Read Aloud - teachers choose a fictional novel to read aloud to students to help build fluency and vocabulary.
  • Wide, independent reading - high interest library - each PreAccess teachers receives a library of 70+ titles 
  • Common Formative Assessments (CFAs) and Touchstone Assessments - based on the Anchor Standards for the CCSS
  • Multiple opportunities to show growth using the STAR Reading Diagnostic (offered at least five times/year)
 
For questions about Access and/or PreAccess, please email Mindy Montanio, KHSD English and Literacy TOSA, [email protected] or call, 661.827.4516.