One of our most critical responsibilities as reading specialists is attending Student Study Team (SST) and Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. In these meetings, my goal is always twofold. First, I will explain the child’s present levels of performance. Second, I outline exactly where the child should be.
I cannot overstate how important it is for parents to hear about both weaknesses and strengths. After all, every child possesses unique strengths, no matter what challenges they face. Visual aids play a vital role in order to help parents understand these benchmarks and the goals we intend to achieve.
In this blog post, I will highlight three free, highly effective reading specialist resources created by the 95 Percent Group. You can use these tools to explain key foundational reading skills to parents in any meeting.
1. Phonics Continuum: A Free Resource for Reading Specialists
Simply telling parents that their child is “behind” is neither helpful nor informative. Therefore, the 95 Percent Group’s Phonics Continuum offers a clear visual breakdown of reading expectations by grade level.
To see it in action, let’s look at a fictional second-grade intervention student named Jacy. Jacy struggles to read consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words without painstakingly sounding out each letter. By looking at the continuum, her parents can instantly see that CVC word mastery is actually a first-grade milestone. In addition, the visual emphasizes just how foundational these simple, short-vowel words are. Consequently, this helps parents grasp the depth of the reading gap without feeling overwhelmed by professional jargon.
Pro Tip: Provide parents with a physical copy of this continuum for future reference. In fact, it serves as an excellent roadmap that you can reference together as you select future intervention goals.
2. Blending Continuum: Essential Tools for Reading Specialists
My absolute favorite resource—and the one I utilize most frequently—is the 95 Percent Group’s Blending Continuum. In addition to bringing this to every parent meeting, I like to create a small poster featuring a few sample words to physically demonstrate how blending works.
The 95 Percent Group breaks blending down into four distinct categories:
- Concept of Blending
- Rehearsal
- Fluency
- Exceptions
Each of these categories features specific, progressive subcategories listed as stages. For instance, the vast majority of the students I work with land within the “voiced rehearsal” stage.
Let’s return to our second-grader, Jacy. Every time Jacy encounters a CVC word, she has to stop and sound it out. Take the word log, for example. Jacy is unable to read the word automatically; instead, she must isolate each individual phoneme: /l/ /o/ /g/… “log.”
When I use the Blending Continuum alongside a quick physical demonstration, parents appreciate the clarity. Furthermore, they often share that they notice the exact same patterns during homework time at home. As educators, we must be explicitly clear when explaining a child’s structural weaknesses and detailing our exact plan to address them.
3. Phonological Awareness Continuum: Must-Have Intervention Data
The third essential tool is the 95 Percent Group’s Phonological Awareness Continuum. Specifically, this resource is highly effective for identifying a student’s underlying linguistic strengths and gaps in phonological and phonemic awareness.
Because phonological awareness is the bedrock of decoding, this visual helps parents see the “why” behind a student’s reading struggles. As a result, it serves as a perfect diagnostic mirror. It allows you to highlight the foundational sound-manipulation skills the child has already mastered while justifying your current and future intervention goals.
Next Steps: Build Your Reading Specialist Binder
To put these resources into practice, I recommend creating a dedicated meeting binder. Here is how to set it up for success:
- Print the Continuums: Keep multiple clean copies of all three 95 Percent Group continuums ready to share.
- Add Reference Sheets: Include copies of my free Reading Checklist and my free Six-Syllable Types Reference Sheet. We can never assume parents already know these syllable types, so having this quick, easy visual reference on hand is an absolute must-have for parent meetings. It effortlessly bridges the gap between academic jargon and practical understanding for families.
- Include Parent Guides: Moreover, add copies of my free Phonological Awareness Guide for Parents.
Whenever I am called to an SST or IEP meeting, I grab this binder along with the specific child’s assessments and data. School days are unpredictable, and you never know when a last-minute meeting might pop up.
Ultimately, having all of your parent-facing resources organized and ready to go is a total lifesaver. Regardless of how or when you are notified about a meeting, arriving organized, prepared, and articulate instills immediate confidence in parents. Most importantly, it shows them that their child is in expert hands.
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