QuickSmart Literacy Program for Middle School Students (Reading and Comprehension) User Guide

Abstract

Middle school students who have problems with learning face many difficulties at school. The QuickSmart Literacy Program helps students who struggle with literacy to become faster and more confident in recognising words and reading connected text. The program also teaches students strategies for working out new words, and understanding what they are reading. This means that students have more time, energy and attention available for tackling challenging comprehension and written literacy tasks. The program has been developed by a research team at the University of New England through the National Centre of Science, Information and Communication Technology, and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia. It focuses on the role of automaticity, that is, the immediate recall of basic information, in developing students' understanding and quick recall of basic academic facts. The program is called QuickSmart because we want students to become quick in their response speed and smart in their strategy use when learning the basic skills required in literacy. This User Guide will assist those who use the QuickSmart Literacy Program to support students with learning difficulties in literacy - classroom teachers, support teachers, teacher aides, parents and carers.