Tier I and Content Literacy

Tier 1 is the frontline of the Response to Intervention (RTI) approach that is currently being implemented in most schools throughout our nation. This preventive approach is designed to reduce the number of students who are not successful learners by providing intervention, the additional instruction that is needed for students to succeed, in Tiers 2 and 3. Focusing on providing differentiated, high quality instruction to ALL students in the general education classroom (Tier 1) will diminish the needs for Tiers 2 and 3 instruction for many students.



The age-old perceptions about learning to read and reading to learn no longer fit! All reading is learning. According to William Brozo, we need to: (1) realize content learning and content literacy learning are inseparable; (2) premise the language arts curriculum on reading to learn; and (3) to increase print encounters and experiences with informational text. (p. 148, Reading Teacher, October 2010).



In the 21st century, there are ever-growing demands for readers to comprehend information from both traditional texts and online. Beginning with Kindergarten, teachers need to intentionally use more informational text with students. An annotated bibiliography of some quality children's literature may be located at http://readinginstructionco.blogspot.com