Sample Programs – Direct Instruction
At Firefly Education we teach the full range of Direct Instruction programs. Each program is built around the core Direct Instruction principles of consistent language, carefully sequenced material, highly individualized delivery, and continuous assessment. The following is a selected sample of Direct Instruction programs that we teach to young children to give them an early start on school, all of which are available either online or at our education centre:
Connecting Math Concepts
Connecting Math Concepts provides systematic, intensive instruction to teach students to connect skills and “big idea” concepts in math. The program combines facts, procedures, conceptual understanding, applications, and the development of problem solving to enable students to achieve mastery of core mathematic skills. Explicit strategies that incorporate oral and written responses are taught to build a strong foundation of basic skills, enabling students to master difficult ideas such as ratios, proportions, probability, functions, and data analysis. The mystery is taken out of math by teaching students how to discover and use math patterns. Key concepts are introduced clearly and incrementally and extended into subsequent lessons, providing the time students need to learn, process, and build a deep understanding. Students move forward in small steps, learn many topics in each lesson, and assimilate all concepts through use and continuous review. Detailed explanations and guided practice move students toward independent work, ensuring that students gain success and confidence as capable problem solvers who are able to think and communicate mathematically. Students learn in less time, remember more, and develop a depth of understanding needed for advanced mathematics.
Language for Learning
Language for Learning provides young learners with the basic vocabulary and understanding of concepts that they need to be successful in school. The program is designed to meet the needs of early students, English language learners, and those who have less than adequate language skills for their age. Children are taught the words, concepts, and statements important to both oral and written language, enabling them to extend this knowledge to other areas of their development. A strong focus is placed on the meanings and uses of words that are important for following instructions, answering questions, and reasoning. Many opportunities are provided for students to describe what they are doing, observe details in pictures, and sequence events in time. Acquisition of vocabulary and background knowledge is maximized through direct teaching, building the prerequisite skills required to achieve proficiency in reading comprehension. Early students are given the essential tools and understanding of language to foster educational success.
Read-Aloud Library
Read-Aloud Library incorporates popular children’s literature into early vocabulary instruction. The program helps students build a vocabulary of “sophisticated” words using student-friendly definitions and active talk about word meaning. Explicit and engaging lessons introduce targeted words selected from Read-Aloud trade books, encouraging purposeful, playful language development and listening skills. Each lesson is centred on a high-quality narrative or expository text. Vocabulary words are introduced within the rich context of the story. The following session, the story is reread and discussed, and students are prompted to use targeted vocabulary in the discussion. Over time, words are reviewed in a variety of games and learning activities to deepen understanding and enable students to incorporate them into their speaking vocabulary. All activities are teacher-led, enabling beginning readers to develop higher level vocabulary long before they are able to read more difficult words.
Reasoning and Writing
Reasoning and Writing integrates higher-level thinking with writing instruction to help students think logically and analytically, and express ideas efficiently and effectively. Early levels focus on writing sentences and parallel stories about familiar characters to build an awareness of logical connections and narrative structures. Later levels help students develop consistent procedures for writing, editing, and revising their work, and critiquing their work as a reader would to eliminate possible sources of confusion. Relevant practice in mechanics, usage, and grammar is provided to refine editing skills and make students accountable for checking their own compositions. A solid foundation for writing is built by teaching skills such as sentence structure, subject/verb agreement, punctuation, capitalization, subjects and predicates, and writing passages that have a main idea and supporting details. Progressive changes in writing assignments incorporate skills taught throughout the program. Careful teaching of analysis and logic skills—including drawing conclusions from evidence, and identifying misleading claims, inadequate arguments, inconsistencies, and contradictions— improves the way students communicate in all subject areas. Students are equipped with everything they need to write strong sentences and paragraphs that are organized, focused, connected, and polished.
Reading Mastery
Reading Mastery helps students develop into fluent, independent, and highly skilled readers. The program features a highly explicit, systematic instructional design that breaks learning into manageable steps that all students can master, and helps students achieve a high rate of success. Five essential components of reading – phonemic awareness, phonics and word analysis, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension – are addressed, teaching important concepts and efficient strategies thoroughly and effectively. Spelling instruction is introduced to help students make the connection between decoding and spelling patterns. Fast-paced lessons keep instruction focused and students actively engaged. Students are given ample opportunities to practice and apply skills and concepts, and to extend learning. Teacher modeling, guided practice, and cumulative review are central to the program and ensure that all students make significant progress. As the program progresses, the focus shifts from learning to read to reading to learn, as students acquire skills needed to learn from a variety of texts. A strong foundation of decoding, word recognition, and comprehension skills are built that transfer to other subject areas.