Shannon Seibert
SPE 545
I interviewed a teacher currently using the Edmark Reading Program with her special education students.
Why did you choose to start using the Edmark Reading Program with your students?
I chose it as a tool to engage my students; it uses a lot of animation. Many of my students have poor communication skills and Edmark allows them to begin sight word reading without needing to be an excellent communicator. I have found that my students learn better as sight word readers; a decoding approach does not work as well for them. Edmark’s Reading Program works well with special needs students.
What are the ages of the students that use the Edmark Reading Program?
I have used it with students in kindergarten all the way up to teenagers who have not yet learned to read because of their disability. . I also think this program would be good for at-risk readers who have been identified but do not require special education.
Does this reading program have a formal progress monitoring feature to gage the student’s success?
Yes and no, you can gage how the students are doing with their progression of completing the different levels. The program does have test activities but not progress monitoring how I think you are referring to it. The students I work with have enjoyed the program and I have seen improvements
What Edmark Reading levels do you use in your school with the students?
We use level one and two. In level one the students are learning 150 words. Level two introduces 200 additional words. We have students who are more severe and they do not progress past level two. We have had wonderful success with teaching students to do some sight word reading through this program. It breaks it down into tiny steps for the students. The program does not start with sight words; it starts with shapes, letters and then whole words.
What do you like best about the Edmark Reading Program?
I think it is a great intervention reading tool for special education students. The program offers errorless discrimination that allows students to learn without making errors. This allows the students to be successful and with the one on one instruction from the teacher, the child can constantly receive praise and reinforcement.
What do you like least about the Edmark Reading Program?
The program is set-up with a teacher only working with one or two students at a time. This can be difficult at times. It also appears that the text has not been updated for some time.
How do you use the program in your classroom?
I usually work with children in small groups of two or three. It really works best one-on-one but that is not always possible. We use it as part of our reading curriculum.
Were any other tools or resources provided with the program?
It comes with supplemental stories, picture phrase cards and sight word recognition cards. We use these materials to reinforce what they have learned.