The CAPIT Instructional Model
30-40 Minutes of Explicit Phonics Instruction + Student Practice.
GROUP LESSON • 10-15 Minutes Daily
DIRECT INSTRUCTION WITH SMALL OR WHOLE GROUP
CAPIT teachers conduct daily group lessons lasting about 10-15 minutes. Research informs us that students learn to read best when receiving daily explicit and systematic phonics instruction from their teachers. Explicit phonics instruction means “saying what you mean” without leaving students guessing for themselves. Systematic phonics instruction means having a clear, thought-out scope and sequence. The CAPIT curriculum provides teachers with a systematic phonics curriculum; teachers provide the explicit phonics instruction. (CLICK HERE to explore how we help teachers teach phonics explicitly.)
Teachers explain new concepts and revisit old ones throughout the year, taking full advantage of the Spacing Effect (the notion that students perform better academically when given multiple opportunities to review learned material, see Carpenter, 2012; and Kang, 2016). Furthermore, modeling exposes students to content in different formats, which helps students learn and retain information.
As researchers and cognitive scientists have pointed out, we can’t expect students to work hard if they cannot “see” how to achieve their goals. But if students have an explicit mental representation of what success looks and feels like, they are more likely to persevere in the face of difficulty. So although “struggle” is worthwhile—because it is the only way in which students improve—it is only desirable after teachers model success.
All students, including advanced and struggling students, participate in the group lesson. Advanced students will benefit from a review; struggling students will benefit from seeing higher-level concepts that they will soon learn and master.
Teachers make each lesson fun and interactive by asking questions and encouraging peer-to-peer learning by calling students to participate.
INDIVIDUAL STUDENT PRACTICE WITH TEACHER SUPPORT
10-30 Minutes Daily Depending on age and ability
10 Minutes in PK
15-20 Minutes in KG
20-30 Minutes in First Grade or higher
Independent Practice Students progress at their own pace. At this time, walk around the room while conducting the following three tasks (and handing out high-fives):
SUPPORT Do students need your help and support? CAPIT notifies teachers when their struggling readers need support as they complete lessons—in real-time. Please refer to our Tier 2-3 student support for additional information on working with struggling students.
MONITOR Are my students being challenged? Are they progressing forward? How many lessons did they complete today? Ask students to “talk” their way through the exercise.
CHALLENGE Point to what students are reading or spelling and ask them to read it to you. Point to a letter and have students say the sound. Ask them what the word means.