Peer Assisted Learning Strategies in Reading for Kindergarten (K-PALS)

The program focuses on phonemic awareness, letter-sound recognition, sight word reading, and decoding. These critical beginning reading skills are known to be the foundation to long-term reading achievement.

PALS begins with four introductory lessons in which the teacher leads students in brief phonological awareness activities. Six training lessons teach students to implement K-PALS activities with a partner. The remaining lessons comprise Teacher-Directed Sound Play and Decoding activities.

Each K-PALS lesson begins with a brief teacher-led “Sound Play” game that addresses rhyming, isolating first and last sounds, blending and segmenting, followed by teacher modeling of the corresponding Decoding Lesson. Students then work in pairs to practice letter-sounds, sight words, decode-able words, and sentences.

PALS Kindergarten Reading Program has been recognized by Teacher’s College at Columbia University as being a “cost-effective early reading intervention program”.

Following a cost-effectiveness analysis report recently conducted by The Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education, researchers concluded that among programs that have been shown to be effective with respect to early literacy outcomes, PALS Kindergarten Reading is also highly efficient in terms of cost per student.

Product Details:

  • K-PALS Manual 2016 Revised Edition with Supplemental Materials in Paper (all-inclusive) Unit Price: (100-RM) $60.00
  • K-PALS Manual with Supplemental Materials on CD 2016 Revised Edition Unit Price: (100-RCD) $60.00
  • K-PALS Manual with Supplemental Materials on Pen Drive 2016 Revised Edition Unit Price: (100-RPD) $60.00
  • Materials include Sound Play Reference Cards, Decoding Command Cards, Decoding lesson sheets, Point sheet, and Alphabet picture guide.
  • Activities have the teacher as Coach and students are Readers to model good coaching behaviors and Teacher is Reader and all students are Coach to provide coaching practice.
  • K-PALS consists of 88 lessons and we recommend completing a minimum of 72 lessons over 20 weeks in 20 – 30 minute sessions, 3 to 4 times a week.
  • The additional 16 lessons are available for teachers who wish to continue implementing K-PALS beyond the 20-week period.
  • The Student Rewards and Recognition Program awards points for good class and coaching behaviors.
  • Authors: Douglas Fuchs, Lynn Fuchs, Kristen McMaster, Anneke Thompson, Stephanie Al Otaiba, and Loulee Yen
  • 2016 Revised Edition

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Dig Deeper into the Literature:

Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L.S., Al Otaiba, S., Thompson, A., Yen, L., McMaster, K.N., Svenson, E., & Yang, N.J. (2001). K-PALS: Helping kindergartners with reading readiness: Teachers and researchers in partnerships. ​Teaching Exceptional Children, 33​ (4), 76-80.

Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L. S., Thompson, A., Al Otaiba, S., Yen, L., Yang, N. J., Braun, M., & O’Connor, R. E. (2002). Exploring the importance of reading programs for kindergartners with disabilities in mainstream classrooms. Exceptional Children, 68, 295-311.

Rafdal, B. H., McMaster, K. L., McConnell, S. R., Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L. S. (2011). The effectiveness of kindergarten peer-assisted learning strategies for students with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 77, 299-316.

Watch a K-PALS Training Video:

 

Peer Assisted Learning Strategies in Reading for First Grade 

First Grade PALS focuses on phonological awareness, decoding skills, and word recognition.

Students are matched so there is a lower-performing and a higher-performing reader. Working in pairs, students engage in five basic activities that include saying sounds, sounding out words, reading common sight words, story reading, and timed reading. Through these activities, students learn that words are made of letters, identify letter-sound correspondences, blend letter sounds together to make words, read sight words quickly, decode words, read sight words and decodable words in connected text.

During the first two weeks of the program, or the equivalent of eight lessons, the teacher models saying sounds, sounding out words, reading common sight words for the students, familiarizing them with the format of the activity and demonstrating how they are expected to work with their partners.

In the 10th week, pairs take turns reading pages from a book for 10 minutes. The stronger reader reads a page first to model fluency and the weaker reader rereads the page. This process continues until the book is completed. The pair then switches roles and reads the book for a second time. Once a pair has read the book four times, the teacher gives them 3 a new book. Critical to the success of PALS is selecting reading materials of appropriate difficulty for both readers.

The benefits of 1st Grade PALS is well documented. PALS motivates students to become better readers, helps students decode and understand text, promotes fluent reading of text through repeated reading, teacher modeling, and self-monitoring of reading progress. Additionally, timed reading and self-monitoring, help to increase students’ fluency and word recognition.

Product Details:

  • PALS Reading Grade 1 with Supplemental Materials in Paper (all-inclusive) Unit Price: (101-RM) $60.00
  • PALS Reading Grade 1 Manual with Supplemental Materials on CD Unit Price: (101-RCD) $60.00
  • PALS Reading Grade 1 Manual with Supplemental Materials on Pen Drive Unit Price: (101-RPD) $60.00
  • Materials include Pairs/Teams Assignment Chart, Score Board, Daily PALS Reference Card, and Speed Game Charts.
  • Student Rewards and  Recognition Activities have students earning points for every sentence read correctly. On the last day of PALS each week, the points are tallied. The second place team stands and receives applause and the winning team stands, receives applause and takes a bow.
  • The program takes about 40 minutes per day, three days a week for a period of 15 – 20 weeks.
  • Authors: Douglas Fuchs, Lynn Fuchs, Ebba Svenson, Loulee Yen, Anneke Thompson, Kristen McMaster, Stephanie Al Otaiba, Devin Kearns
  • 2011 Revised Edition

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Peer Assisted Learning Strategies in Reading for Grades 2-6

The PALS Grades 2 – 6 Reading program advances decoding and word identification, fluency, and comprehension of narrative texts for second through sixth grade students. The activities center around peers providing immediate feedback to each other in pairs.

The comprehension activities at second-grade introduce students to critical reading strategies that are often used by successful readers, including paragraph summaries and predicting future text.

For third through six-grade students, the PALS program continues to advance fluency and comprehension strategies through the introduction and application of three activities: Partner Reading with Retells, Paragraph Shrinking, and Prediction Relay.

The Student Rewards and Recognition program has students earning points for every sentence read correctly. On the last day of PALS each week, the points are tallied. The second place team stands and receives applause and the winning team stands, receives applause and takes a bow.

Product Details:

  • PALS Reading – Grades 2-6 with Supplemental Materials in paper (all-inclusive) format: (102-RM) $65.00
  • Alternative Manual formats include Supplemental Materials on CD or Pen Drive are also available: (102-RCD) & (102-RPD) $65.00
  • Optional – Demonstration DVD: (102-RDVD) $15.00 *This DVD is a demonstration of scripted interactions between a teacher and student pair and is not a substitute for a training workshop.
  • All-in Materials – student materials, transparencies templates, and additional teacher resources like Teacher Command Card, Watching PALS Pairs Checklist, Triad Reading Schedule, Score Board, answer keys.
  • Schedule – 12 mandatory training days and 17 optional mini-lessons that take 35 – 45 minutes, 3 times a week.
  • Authors – Douglas Fuchs, Lynn S. Fuchs, Deborah C. Simmons, Patricia G. Mathes
  • 2008 Revised Edition

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PALS Aprendiendo en Parejas (AP) de segundo a sexto grado

Nos complace presentarle la primera adaptación y traducción al español del programa de Aprendiendo en Parejas (AP), lo cual se conoce en inglés como Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS). Este programa es un programa de lectura suplementario para el uso de docentes y estudiantes de segundo a sexto grado, según la clasificación educativa de los Estados Unidos (estudiantes de 7 a 12 años de edad).

Hace 15 años se desarrollaron el programa de PALS en Peabody College de Vanderbilt University para proveer a docentes un programa de lectura suplementaria que los estudiantes pueden practicar en parejas. El propósito del programa es involucrar a cada estudiante en la práctica intensiva de habilidades esenciales y básicas de la lectura con fluidez y comprensión.

Beneficios del programa:

  • Los estudiantes se benefician porque tienen más oportunidades para practicar la lectura.
  • Los procedimientos son sencillos, eficientes, y no cambian durante el programa.
  • Los estudiantes se concentran en el trabajo.
  • Cada estudiante recibe una instrucción personalizada según su nivel de habilidad.
  • El docente elige un libro para cada pareja que se encuentre al nivel de lectura de dicha pareja. Esto permite que todos los estudiantes realicen las mismas actividades al nivel apropiado para cada estudiante.
  • El compañero proporciona retroalimentación y corrección inmediata.
  • El docente puede enfocarse en los estudiantes que necesiten más apoyo.
  • El programa de AP motiva a los estudiantes a leer cada vez mejor.
  • Provee reforzamiento positivo y constante. Los estudiantes reciben recompensas por mejorar su lectura.
  • El programa de AP enriquece las relaciones sociales entre compañeros.
  • Establece una estructura para promover la interacción positiva y productiva entre compañeros.
  • Crea oportunidades para que los estudiantes menos hábiles puedan integrarse en una actividad escolar importante.

Detailes del producto:

  • PALS Aprendiendo en Parejas – Grados 2 – 6 (PALS Spanish Version) precio por unidad del manual: (102-RMS) $65.00 USD
  • Este programa se realiza a través de tres sesiones semanales de 35 a 45 minutos cada una.
  • Edición revisada de 2008
  • Autores: Douglas Fuchs, Ph.D., Lynn S. Fuchs, Ph.D., Deborah C. Simmons, Ph.D., and Patricia G. Mathes, Ph.D.
  • Los colaboradores en la adaptación al español de 2013: Grace E. Fletcher, Clara Mengolini, Alejandra R. Mielke, y Kathryn Hamlett.

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Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies for English Language Learners with Disabilities

Peer Assisted Learning Strategies in Reading for High School

The methodology of High School PALS is similar to PALS Grades 2-6 in that both incorporate the same scorecards and dyadic team structure. Additionally, the focus is on grade-level skills of fluency and comprehension. Improving comprehension is achieved through Partner Reading activities with brief retellings,

Paragraph Shrinking, and Predicting.

High School PALS does deviate from elementary-level PALS in several important ways. First, in High School PALS, students change partners frequently, rather than every 4 weeks. Second, the High School PALS reinforcement system is more structured and resembles a token economy, using dollars to go toward prizes and identifying an “Employee of the Month.” Third, the High School reading manual has more grown-up and more non-fiction reading passages. When selecting expository reading materials for high school students, we recommend that it reflects the interests of older students and includes contemporary topics such as career opportunities, pop culture, and current events.

 

Product Details:

  • PALS Reading High School Manual with Supplemental Materials in Paper (all-inclusive) Unit Price: (107-RM) $65.00
  • Optional PALS Reading DVD Unit Price: (107-RDVD) $15.00
  • The DVD is a demonstration video (not a substitute for training) of scripted interactions between a teacher and student pair.
  • Materials include PALS transparencies, posted materials, teacher materials, student materials, note-taking sheets, quizzes, and answer keys.
  • Activities include a student rewards and recognition incentive program where students earn PALS Dollars for exhibiting on-the-job behaviors that they can spend on tangible items provided by the teacher.
  • The program has 6 lessons spread over 2 sessions of a 17-week program duration.
  • PALS sessions are conducted 5 times during a two-week scheduling block (i.e., 3 times one week, 2 times the next week).
  • Session lengths vary from 25-60 minutes each.
  • Authors: Lynn S. Fuchs, Douglas Fuchs, Sarah Kazdan, Patricia Mathes, Karin Prentice, & Laura Sáenz

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