1. Thinking Reader

2. Software Evaluation Program name: Thinking Reader Vendor: Scholastic/Tom Snyder Prod. Content: Reading Comprehension Grade Level: 5-8

3. What does the program do? Assists students in the comprehension of literature. Assists teacher in the assessment of students’ progress and understanding of the text. Utilizes award-winning core literature.

4. Is the program designed for special needs learners? Written to the guideline of Section 508. Aligned with the No Child Left Behind Act implemented in 2001. Translation available for ESL students. Teachers can change the difficulty level for each individual student. Read stories aloud for students who may need that service. Visual feedback and positive reinforcement for students.

5. Is it proven to be effective for students? In a federally funded study it was proven to increase comprehension in students who were below the 25 th percentile. Emerged from nearly 20 years of research on comprehension. Dr. Bridget Dalton, who published articles in special education journals and was a co-creator in the program with Dr. David Rose. Rose is an author and lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

6. How do you monitor a student’s progress? Through work logs which track student responses to literature. Embedded quizzes that test reading comprehension. Comprehensive reports which monitors a reader’s progress.

7. What is the cost on schools? There are many funding opportunities and it’s affordable. –Special Education, Title II-D, IDEA Grants, Striving Readers Grants. –Prices range from 250 dollars to 2,200 dollars based on number of licenses needed.