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Hello. My name is John Boyd and I'm the Director of Instruction for the Institute of Reading
Development.
Our organization has provided summer reading skills programs for just over 40 years. And
it's been my privilege to be a part of the instructional leadership team here for more
than 20 years.
I'm going to give you a brief introduction to the Institute and the summer reading skills
programs we teach. Whether you're a parent considering a program for your child, a university
administrator considering a partnership with the Institute, or a teacher inquiring about
employment, I hope you'll find this information helpful. I'll also refer you to a website
where you can learn more.
There are two main goals of the summer reading skills programs we've developed, for students
ranging in age from 4 years old to adults. The first goal is to teach the skills students
need to succeed at their current developmental level. The second goal is to help our students
develop a love of reading and the habit of reading for pleasure.
The institute's dual focus on skill development and a love of reading makes these programs
unique.
Here's how the skill instruction works:
At each stage of reading development, we've developed a curriculum that covers the skills
important to that stage, and which provides the opportunity to use and reinforce these
skills through independent reading. For example, skills instruction for entering first graders
provides phonics, decoding, and sight word instruction. We also support students as they
put these skills to use in a program of independent reading in books at the right level of difficulty.
Skills instruction for entering second graders covers second grade phonics, word-attack skills,
fluency training, and reading comprehension. And again, students use and reinforce these
skills in a program of independent reading.
It's a formula that really works. In the early stages, the students learn to read fluently,
and also in later stages where middle school, high school, college students, and adults
focus on ideal reading speed, critical thinking, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and study
skills.
The second goal is to develop a love of reading. With practice, the skills we teach enable
our students to read fluently and effortlessly to become absorbed in the books they read,
to the point where they identify with the characters and experience the challenges and
adventures of the characters as their own. This experience makes reading pleasurable,
and is vital to success in school. That's why our curriculum, from the way we teach
reading mechanics to the way we teach comprehension and lead book discussions, is designed to
foster fluent reading with absorption.
We building on this skill development by providing our students with great books during the program.
For example, our fourth grade students will read A Cricket in Times Square by George Selden,
and our high school students will read The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R. Tolkien. Both
books are true classics, among the finest written for their respective age groups, and
make a lasting impact on those who read them.
We also provide participants with tools for finding great books at the right level of
difficulty after the program is over, in order to reinforce skill development and the habit
of reading for pleasure.
So that's about it: skills, a love of reading, and great books at the right level of difficulty.
Those are the essential elements of the summer reading skills programs. We provide instruction
in two formats: traditional classes and distance programs. All programs are taught by Institute
instructors on my staff.
To learn more about the Institute, find us online at www.readingprograms.org
If you're interested in a reading program, please visit this website and enter your zip
code into the program locator in the upper right hand corner. If you're interested in
a summer teaching position with the Institute, please visit this same website, again it's
www.readingprograms.org, and go to the employment opportunities page in the About Us section.
Also in the about us section is a list of Institute staff, which includes my contact
information.
Again, I'm John Boyd, Director of Instruction. I'd be happy to hear from you, and thank you
for your interest.