For 90 minutes each day, students are grouped by their reading ability rather than their grade level. To set the tone and importance of this period, students proceed silently and purposefully through the hall to their reading group classroom. Once the period begins, there is a rapid-fire of sequential lessons. Each segment is short enough to maintain the interest and attention of even the most normally distracted student. The lessons are fun but structured.
Teachers read a story.
Then students are involved in reading the words to the story in unison, discussing the story with a partner, then answering questions to test comprehension. This positive reinforcement both encourages children, and fosters group cooperation. Individual student achievement receives one of many cheers. During the reading period, every staff person in the school is involved in reading. The art teacher or gym teacher may be tutors, for example.