Guide
When a student keeps needing support
Two Needs support ratings in a row on one skill is the most useful signal a lesson record produces. It is not a verdict on the student. It is a sign that the plan needs a change, and the record tells you where to look.
In short
When a skill is rated Needs support twice in a row, stop adding new material on top of it. Check the prerequisite skill, shorten the practice to that one skill with more repetitions, change the mode (build it, write it, read it), and re-rate after two sessions. Record the change so the pattern and the response are both visible later.
First, check underneath
Most persistent trouble with a skill is trouble with the one before it. If blends will not stick, check short vowels. If silent e is shaky, check that the student reads the short-vowel version with confidence. The sequence exists because the skills lean on each other.
Then change one thing
- Fewer new items, more repetitions of the target skill.
- A different mode: if reading it fails, build it with tiles, then write it, then read it.
- A shorter session on that skill, more often.
- A different example set. Some word lists are simply harder than others.
What not to do
Do not repeat the whole lesson from the top, and do not skip ahead hoping it resolves. Both make the record lie: one shows a lesson taught twice with no change, the other shows progress that is not there.
Record the change
A one-line note ("switched to tiles, 10 words, twice a week") next to the rating turns a bad fortnight into evidence. When the skill comes good, the record shows what worked, which is the most valuable page in a progress meeting.
In Literacy Trail
The attention list flags a student with repeated Needs support ratings and shows how many in a row. The review queue keeps the skill in front of you. Notes with a category sit beside the ratings on the student page, and the progress report can include them.