The Girls and Boys Town Reading Center
Boys Town, NE
TARGET STUDENTS
Grades 7-12. The program is designed for students who are reading as low as a 2nd grade level.
PROGRAM PURPOSE
Reading Is FAME is a four-course reading intervention for regular and special education 7 th -12 th graders reading as low as the 2 nd grade level. FAME is an acronym for the four courses contained within the program: Foundations of Reading; Adventures in Reading; Mastery of Meaning; Explorations. It was developed at the Home Campus of Girls and Boys Town, a residential facility serving the country's children and adolescents who have experienced difficulties at home, at school, or both. Youth attend one of two on-campus private schools, both of which provide instruction in small class sizes and opportunities for individualized instruction. Students typically enter school with a two to four year reading deficit, although about one out of every ten students enters reading five to six years below grade level. Despite this enriched educational environment, students did not make significant gains in reading ability. In response to this, Girls and Boys Town recruited Drs. Mary Beth Curtis and Ann Marie Longo from Harvard University 's Reading Laboratory to develop an adolescent reading program. A Jesse Ball duPont grant assisted in program development, initial testing, and evaluation.
When FAME was first used in Girls and Boys Town schools, data from norm-referenced tests showed more than a one-year grade equivalent gain per semester of instruction. When the program was implemented in a public school setting, students achieved similar gains. Because the program proved replicable, nationwide dissemination began.
Students identified as FAME candidates are placed depending upon reading level. FAME courses are offered 40-50 minutes daily and serve to supplement traditional English/Language Arts classes. FAME courses are oftentimes viewed as an elective course offering. Any certified teacher can become a FAME teacher, although districts are encouraged to appoint those teachers who possess English, Reading , and/ or Special Education backgrounds.
APPROACH
Philosophy. Reading Is FAME, is based on Jeanne Chall's Stages of Reading Development (1996), which contends that reading is a process that evolves as the reader's skill level increases. When learning to read, one must begin by learning alphabetic principles. Then, practice allows reading to become more fluent. When fluency is mastered, one has "learned to read." Next, one begins to "read to learn." Making this transition allows readers to use reading as a tool in their learning (Curtis & Longo, 1999).
Sometimes, teachers equate reading deficits with an inability to comprehend. Though this may be accurate with some students, comprehension is sometimes the readily perceived consequence of a student's reading deficit. The cause of a student's reading deficit may lie in deficit decoding skills, lower rates of reading fluency, or an insufficient command of vocabulary. Identifying the cause of a reader's skill deficit is a key component in correcting it. Chall's Stages of Reading Development provides the theoretical foundation for both the developmental and differentiated approach to FAME's reading instruction.
Instructional components. All FAME courses adhere to the Stages of Instruction: direct instruction, guided practice, and independent practice. Foundations of Reading and Adventures in Reading require a ratio of no more than ten students to two adults, those adults being a teacher and a teaching assistant. Mastery of Meaning and Explorations see an increased ratio of up to fifteen students to one teacher. All FAME courses are semester-long supplemental courses that meet daily for 40-50 minutes. FAME is oftentimes viewed as an elective offering. The following provides a brief explanation of each FAME classroom:
Foundations of Reading: The first course in Reading Is FAME , is designed for students in grades 7-12 who read between the 2 nd and 4 th grade levels. For these readers, deficit decoding skills are the primary cause of their reading difficulties. In this course, students learn the relationships between the most common letter combinations and sounds. Collaborative oral reading, computer activities, and word activities reinforce skills taught. Students who lack a basic knowledge of syllables, vowel sounds and sight words may require a different intervention.
Adventures in Reading: The second course in Reading Is FAME, is designed for students in grades 7-12 who read between the 4 th and 6 th grade levels. The Adventures in Reading course helps students improve reading fluency and the ability to recognize words and meanings. Collaborative oral reading, computer activities, and word activities promote fluency building and improve students' basic reading vocabularies.
Mastery of Meaning: The third course in Reading Is FAME , is designed for students in grades 9-12 who read between the 6 th and 8 th grade levels. The goal in Mastery of Meaning is to improve comprehension by increasing students' vocabularies. Students are provided with multiple opportunities to learn a wide variety of words, concepts and topics. Reading , writing, listening and speaking activities allow students to process word meanings actively and generatively.
Explorations: The fourth course in Reading Is FAME , is designed for students in grades 9-12 who read at the 8 th grade level and beyond. Deficits in comprehension, insufficient problem-solving and study skills are the primary cause of reading problems in students targeted by this instruction. In Explorations , students develop the ability to integrate information in text through reading and writing. Students are taught how to take notes, outline, summarize, and study efficiently in the context of content areas such as social studies, science and the humanities.
Consultation: Consultation is a required component of Reading Is FAME. Consultation ensures the successful implementation of the Reading Is FAME curriculum within a district, school or classroom. Either a verbal or written consultation summary, including recommendations for continued implementation, is provided to assist teachers and administrators in problem-solving, goal-setting and monitoring of program practices.
Setting. A group of adolescents with similar reading deficits meet in a classroom for 40-50 minutes daily. Each course is a semester in length and should be used as a supplemental course, rather than a replacement one. FAME has proven efficacy with regular education population, special education populations, and English language learners.
Materials. FAME curriculum is received upon training. Software is included for Foundations and Adventures . Additional materials (classroom sets of novels, standardized tests, reference materials, etc.) are required and a list of these materials will be provided upon request.
ASSESSMENT
Before a student can be placed into Reading Is FAME, a comprehensive reading inventory (Diagnostic Assessment of Reading, e.g) must be administered to identify the cause of a student's reading deficit.
FAME students are formally assessed pre- and post-semester. In Foundations and Adventures, students take a standardized test that measures decoding and auditory, or basic, vocabulary. In Mastery and Explorations , students take a standardized test that measures comprehension and vocabulary. These tests will measure the expected one-year grade equivalent gain per semester of instruction.
Students in the first three courses of FAME take weekly pre- and post-tests. In addition to serving as baseline data for the teacher's instruction, the growth demonstrated from pre- to post-test serves as a positive reinforcer and motivator. These scores are discussed during weekly grade conferences, an activity that occurs in the first three courses of FAME.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Each FAME course corresponds to one day of training. Many sites opt to have Foundations and Adventures training initially. Approximately six weeks after implementation, a consultant from Girls and Boys Town returns for on-site consultations. On-site consultations involve in-class observations, debriefing meetings with FAME stakeholders, and any other specific requests a site may have. This is an optimal time to hold Mastery and Explorations trainings. The final direct support piece is when the Girls and Boys Town consultant returns to consult to those teaching Mastery and Explorations . Several different training/ consultation options exist and can be explored in the planning stages.
Sites using FAME receive complimentary indirect support for the duration of the FAME implementation. Phone calls and e-mails regarding any FAME matter are encouraged and free of charge.
EFFECTIVENESS
FAME is evaluated using standardized and curriculum-based measures. When FAME was first implemented at Boys Town , standardized measures reported more than a one-year gain per semester of instruction. A replication study was conducted in Lincoln , Nebraska , to test the program's effectiveness in a public school setting. These students completed all four FAME courses in a two-year period. Using the Woodcock Johnson- Revised and the Wide Range Achievement Test, 3 rd Edition, students averaged a 5.5 grade equivalent gain in Basic Reading, a 5.1 grade equivalent gain in Vocabulary, and a 2.5 grade equivalent gain in Spelling. These results prompted nation-wide dissemination. While these gains are statistically and practically significant, they do not reflect quasi-experimental or randomized control group designs.
To date, FAME has been implemented in 23 states. Implementations include both regular education classrooms and special education classrooms in various school settings (traditional, alternative, after-school, etc.) Results are encouraging, From the fall of 1996 to the spring of 2005, results from 7,499 students reflect the following gains within a semester of study:
- 3,430 Foundations students made a 1.0 grade level equivalent gain in decoding, and a .7 gain in basic vocabulary
- 4,244 Adventure students made a .7 gain in decoding and a .8 gain in basic vocabulary
- 2,131 Mastery students made a 1.0 gain in comprehension and a 1.3 gain in vocabulary
- 794 Explorations students made a .9 gain in comprehension and a 1.0 gain in vocabulary
COST/ADOPTION
Reading Is FAME is a cost-effective and proactive program for reversing reading failure in adolescents. Costs will vary depending on location, number of teachers trained, and specific site requests. For further information, please e-mail nrtcmarketing@girlsandboystown.org or call 1-800-545-5771.
Contacting Reading Is FAME. Website: www.girlsandboystown.org/pros/training/education/FAME_program.asp
