Pacific Learning Introduces Six-week Literacy Intervention System for Today's Diverse Classroom

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Nov. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Learning, Inc., provider of literacy resources for grades PreK–8+, and sister company of Creative Teaching Press, introduces a six-week Literacy Intervention System (LIS) and its Spanish-language counterpart, El Sistema de la Intervención de Lectura (SIL). Since its spring 2011 release, the LIS/SIL program has been creating buzz among school administrators due to its strong focus on ESL literacy development, reading comprehension, and content that truly resonates with students in today's diverse classroom.

This unique reading intervention program is geared toward struggling kindergarten and first-grade students, and it works great as supplemental material for small groups. The LIS/SIL program was developed by two Texas-based Bilingual Academic Intervention teachers, Donna Cuevas Roeder and Anjeanetta Prater Matthews, as a culmination of their passion for education and their expert understanding of what children need for language and literacy development.

"Year after year, I was utilizing the same guided-reading books, and I noticed that the students coming into my classroom came from various backgrounds—not just one," said  co-author Donna Cuevas Roeder. "Therefore, I decided to write books that are multicultural, that reflect the culture, the livelihood, and the traditions of the children, their families, and their country," Roeder said.

Co-author Anjeanetta Prater Matthews experienced the same issue with her students.  Matthews believes that if students are able to relate to the photos or illustrations in a book, it will be easier for them to understand the text. Roeder and Matthews set out to create texts that their diverse classroom of students could relate to, and they enlisted their own family members to model as characters in the nonfiction Hopscotch book series.  The Hopscotch leveled readers discuss familiar activities such as doing homework or visiting an aquarium, but they also highlight real-life events such as attending Quinceñeras and helping Grandma make tamales—subject matter that might otherwise be left out of classroom reading materials. What's more, the 30 Hopscotch reading titles included in the LIS/SIL kits have been written in English and in Spanish without being translated or adapted.

The LIS/SIL program consists of 180 student books (6 copies each of 30 Hopscotch book titles) that range from Guided Reading levels A-C and intervention levels 1 to 3. The system focuses on critical literacy skills, such as print awareness, letter knowledge, vocabulary building, reading and writing fluency, oral language development, and comprehension. This new nonfiction series of leveled readers is highly recommended for RtI, ELLs, Dual language/bilingual, Reading Recovery, and Early Childhood programs. Authors Donna Cuevas Roeder and Anjeanetta Prater Matthews are currently writing additional titles for 2012 and are working on the next level of intervention. For more information on the LIS/SIL program or other supplemental literacy solutions, please visit www.pacificlearning.com.

About Pacific Learning, Inc.

Pacific Learning, Inc., is the dedicated provider of PreK–8+ literacy solutions since 1999. Pacific Learning's supplemental resources are research-based and designed to increase instructional excellence and student achievement. They specialize in literacy resources in the following areas: assessment, comprehension, differentiated instruction, leveled reading, interactive technology, intervention, parent involvement, and more!  Pacific Learning understands that 21st century learners need to be engaged in new ways. You'll find a great variety of standards-based resources to help light the literacy fire and inspire in students the desire to learn. Pacific Learning is the proud sister company of Creative Teaching Press, a leading provider of learning décor, classroom, and parent resources.  For more information, visit www.pacificlearning.com.
                                                                                               
For more information please contact Lauren Tuculescu at (888) 558-2728 ext. 120.

SOURCE Pacific Learning, Inc.