Reading Roots II: Reading "Between the Lions": Combining Instruction with Technology and Multimedia to Ensure That Every Child Succeeds in Reading by Third Grade

During Phase I in 2018, the team developed a prototype that integrated videos from the literacy education TV series Between the Lions and technology-delivered learning games designed to promote critical reading skills into a three-week-long segment of the Success for All (SFA) first-grade instructional model. At the end of Phase I, a pilot research study was conducted with grade 1 students from a school that included a high proportion of students eligible for free and reduced priced lunches. Results demonstrated that the prototype operated as intended, that students found the activities engaging, and that from pre-test to post-test students' scores increased in letter-sound identification, sounding, blending, and spelling words.

During Phase II, the team will expand the video and interactive content of the platform to enable it to cover a full academic year's worth of lessons, and will complete development of the technological infrastructure, including the data management module, the reporting dashboard, and supplements to promote family engagement. Researchers will carry out a pilot test to examine the usability, fidelity of implementation, and efficacy of the platform in increasing reading outcomes of first graders, compared to a similar group of students that does not have access to Reading Roots II. The pilot study will include 480 students in grades 1 from eight schools where 92% of students are eligible for free and reduced priced lunches. Students in four of the schools will be randomly assigned to use the intervention and the other half will proceed with business as usual. Analyses will compare pre-and-post reading scores between the groups on established standardized measures. Cost will be assessed as calculated by fair estimates of materials, software licenses, initial and follow-up professional development, and any additional personnel.