My name is Tomi Kluver, the Academic Coach for Greenway Elementary where I support teachers and students around literacy. For the last 2 years, I have been involved in an intensive online course that has helped shift my teaching of reading.

My coaching partner, Trina and I, are helping support 14 students on IEPs and about 35 students in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade who are in need of a reading intervention. Last year, we began to use decodable books that were beginning level and it has turned these students into empowered readers. We want to continue the learning with additional levels of books that will address blending 4 or more sounds, along with new sound patterns that include the big jump into long vowels. These books will immediately go into the hands of kids who are learning to read them, along with going home with them to share with their families and show off their new reading skills. 

The Charge Mommy series of decodable books follows a research based scope and sequence and correlates well with the shift we have made in teaching students to read. Students want to read the books because they are engaging and at the same time, they are reading words that match the instruction given in small groups! Having a tool to help them access reading and feel the joy of being able to read on their own is a true gift.