TEACHER TRAINING

Questions and Answers

Q.

I looked over the material

and am at a loss as to how

to implement it in one hour

tutoring sessions. 

A.

If your time with students

is limited to one hour,

you can cut down

the time for each part

of the Peterson Reading

Teaching Outline.

For example,

you can do 4-4-4 for 20 minutes

3-3-3 for 10 minutes

and 5-5-5 for 30 minutes.

If you only want to supplement

your current curriculum,

you can cut the times down further

for each of the sections.

Cutting the times

will reduce the results.

Quick results require

6 hours per week minimum.

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Q.

I have some students

who are not reading

at a 3.5 reading level. 

What meaning phrases

should I choose

for 4-4-4?

A.

For younger and ESL students:

Grammar 2 and Paired Phrases

are a little simpler.

You may also want to try

running the Highlighted Audio.

You can run it from

the Literacy Free site.

Links are on the left side

of the screen.

The phrase lists are played

with a highlighter that bounces

across the words as they are spoken.

It is fun for kids

to sit at the computer with headphones

and watch/chorus with the highlighter.

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Q.

I have been using

the Grammar 2 phrases lists

to do 4-4-4 with my tutoring students. 

What do you do 

when you get to the end

of the lessons?

Do you just move on

to another lesson?

A.

You can use any of the phrase lists

from the Literacy Free site:

I would suggest:

Alphabet/Paired Phrases

and Meaning Clusters

as well as the U.S. Government

and U.S. History phrases lists

because they also teach a subject.

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Q.

Should there be any kind

of discussion about the phrases

before starting?

A.

No. Teacher talking should be kept

to a minimum.

There should be no dialogue

during 3-3-3, 4-4-4 and 5-5-5.

If students have questions

about the materials,

they may ask in writing.

The more time the teacher spends

explaining and lecturing,

the less time students spend

in the act of reading and writing.

When a teacher lectures,

students get distracted

by facial expressions

and body language.

They easily get off-task

and memory is decreased.

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Q.

For Test 3-3-3

should I choose different tests

for different levels of students,

or are they all the same level?

A.

Some tests are simpler than others.

You can browse the Test333 Index

and choose the appropriate tests

under each subject heading.

Clicking the site index link

will allow you to view

an alphabetical list of the tests.

Important Note:

We have found in our classrooms

that as long as the lessons

remain strictly auditory,

a wide range of students

can be accommodated

by the same materials.

Younger students

are capable of copying

phrases from the text

and doing a tell-back

of key words or phrases

or reading their memory triggers.

For fast-writes,

younger students can

draw pictures or scribble.

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Q.

What standardized testing

do you use?

A. Metropolitan Achievement

     CTBS or Iowa’s

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Q.

If I was to come out

to visit your school,

when would be a good time?

Do you run trainings

at particular times?

A.

You are welcome

to come to our classes anytime.

We only close one day

for major holidays.

We are a year-round school.

If you can't make

a 6-week commitment,

that's okay.

It will be helpful for you to see

as much as you can in person.

You will be able to observe

our full day school and

our evening scholarship classes.

After the first day

we expect you

to participate 

as a model student.

Let us know if you plan

to visit the school:

1-800-SCHOOL3

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Q.

Do you use the same materials

for the different ages of students?

A.

We use the same materials

with an 8 year range of students.

There are lower and higher levels.

Lower levels use more 3-3-3

with animals and presidents.

Higher levels use more 3-3-3 

and 5-5-5 with literature,

math and science.

The methods are the same.

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Q.

Where can I find more information

about the philosophies behind

Peterson Reading?

A.

Please read through the many articles

on our various websites, particularly:

www.test333.com

www.readingimprovement.org

www.teach555.com

www.meaningphrases.com/

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Q.

I wanted to try the 5-5-5

with one of my older students

but the audio was very poor

on the book that I chose.

I read to him for 5 minutes

from a book we chose together

and had him write 2-3 word phrases

then do a Tell-back and

then do a Fast-write.

Does that sound feasible?

A.

It's okay to read aloud if necessary,

but it’s best to use the computer audio

so that you can sit next to your students

and model the note taking process.

The computer audio

also avoids distractions

caused by teacher talking,

like facial expressions

and body language.

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COMMENTS ON 555:

You can do 5-5-5

with younger students, too.

If they are too young

to take notes,

they can draw pictures

of what they hear

or copy/trace a list

of guide phrases

you have prepared

in advance.

Most kids will be able

to do a tell-back of some kind.

They can copy/trace

or draw again

for the fast-write.

You can even modify it

to a 2-2-1 for young students.

TIP: It is best to have younger

or lower achieving students

sit next to older

or higher achieving students

so they will have a good

model to copy.

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 Q.

How do you pay students?

Is there a form to use

to record their points and pay?

A.

You can use a daily contract

to score students and keep track

of their points and pay.

You can staple the contract

to the front of each student’s portfolio

where their work is kept.

See the sample daily contract

and modify it as needed.

You can offer as many points

as you want for each category

and you can pay whatever amount

you want for each point

and written page.

Example:

You can give one point

for each category

and pay .05 for each point,

or you can score

up to five points

and pay .01 for each point.

In a 2 hour session

at our school,

hard working students

can earn a .50 cents

or a dollar instead

of allowances.

It’s a nice round number

students can shoot for.

You can even say,

“if you do everything

you’re supposed to do

you can earn a paper dollar!”

Use an envelope

to hold their money and

record their performance.

Write their total

points and pay

on the outside.

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Q.

How should fast-writes

be scored?

A.

How you score fast-writes

depends on the age and ability

of each student.

Quickly scan their writing

and give them points for:

1. amount they’ve written
2. keeping their pens moving
3. effort
4. improvements
5. ability to add their own

previously learned details

on the topic (older students)

Comment on and reward

improvements in their writing,

but never give negative feedback.

or constructive criticism.

i.e. NEVER mark spelling

or grammatical errors.

They will disappear

after a thousand pages or so.

Negative feedback is discouraging,

especially to unmotivated students.

Students must learn

to self-correct.

If you want to mark anything

on their fast-writes,

mark what they did RIGHT.

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Q.

I will send you improvements

that I see in my students

at your request.

What improvements

should I be looking for

and how would you

like them recorded?

A.

Send us periodic e-mails

with any notable

gains or improvements.

We will need the ages

of each student,

as well as any beginning

and ending test scores

you may have gathered

from standardized testing.

More subjective comments

will also be helpful.

Make note of any improvements

you notice in students’ abilities

to stay on task, cooperate

and produce written work.

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