Implementation Guidelines for Reading Horizons

Whether you’re a secondary special education teacher, instructor at a corrections facility or tutor in an adult literacy center, the Reading Horizons program can adapt to suit your needs.

Implementation Suggestions

• Set up student records in the teacher-friendly Administration system.
• Administer the Reading Horizons pre-test. The curriculum will be customized accordingly.
• Recommended student time on computer for best results is 30–40 minutes per day, at least three days per week.
• Students are required to move through the lessons sequentially. Each lesson has the capability of providing extra exercises for students who are struggling with a specific concept.
• Instructors can offer direct instruction help to individuals or small groups while remaining students work autonomously on the computer.
• Use of the Lesson Summaries manual (provided with every software purchase) is highly recommended for instructor interaction with students. Direct instruction materials are included to provide group review with all students using the courseware who have progressed to a specific interim test.
• To gain full benefit from the program, students must practice by reading daily.

Other Standards and Recommendations

• Four interim tests monitor student progress and understanding of concepts. Interim test reports are available on demand and provide the instructor with a prescription for each student. Lessons are automatically reset for students who exhibit an inadequate understanding of concepts.
• Some students may complete the course more rapidly than others due to the rate at which they learn.
• Mastery, Drill, and Practice (MDP) helps students internalize the skills learned in the lesson. The instructor may select specific sections and completion percentages for each student to finish in the MDP.
• Lessons last an average of 25 minutes. The program will take 40–60 hours to complete when following the suggested time frame.
• The length of MDP sessions depends on the lesson skills being practiced (15–60 minutes).
• Where appropriate, individual lessons or tests may be overridden by the administrator.
• If a student is interrupted, lessons are bookmarked for completion at a later date.