S.P.I.R.E. (Specialized Program Individualizing Reading Excellence)

Features

Grade Level
Grades 4-5
Grades 6-8
Grades 9-12
Intervention Group Size
Individual Student
Small Group (2-4)
Group (5+)
Intervention Lesson Time
45+ Minutes Per Session
Technology Requirements
Desktop/Laptop/Tablet

S.P.I.R.E. is a comprehensive and multisensory reading intervention and instructional program that integrates phonological awareness, phonics, handwriting, fluency, vocabulary, spelling, and comprehension in an instructional design that is based upon how struggling readers learn. S.P.I.R.E. has been used by students with characteristics of dyslexia, or Specific Learning Disabilities, or students who need direct, systematic, sequential instruction in reading. Each S.P.I.R.E. lesson employs 10 steps that enhance student learning and memory by engaging multisensory pathways to the brain in rapid succession.

To Access More Information: https://www.epslearning.com/products/spire-4th-edition 

Publisher Statement (Click to View)

EPS School Specialty’s S.P.I.R.E. 4th edition (including its foundational level, Sounds Sensible) is designed to be a supplemental phonemic awareness and phonics intervention program. It serves students in Grades PreK-–8. The program focuses on delivering proven-effective structured literacy curriculum, which is presented through multisensory activities. Based on Orton-Gillingham best practices, S.P.I.R.E.'s 10-step, 45-minute, teacher-led lesson structure includes critical emergent reading skills, including phonological awareness, decoding, pre-reading, spelling, oral and listening skills, and comprehension. The program, which offers seven levels of instruction that follow a research-based scope and sequence, can be used for small group and 1:1 instruction. 

S.P.I.R.E. 4th edition provides workbooks and decodable readers for students, and an array of instructional guidance materials for teachers that support step-by-step explicit instruction. (If you prefer online learning, iSPIRE is a digital version of the print product.) 

EPS School Specialty’s newest addition to the S.P.I.R.E. family of products is SPIRE Next, which is designed for students who have completed Level 4 or higher of S.P.I.R.E. 4th edition and are in need of additional support with reading comprehension. SPIRE Next’s supplemental instruction includes reading comprehension skills and strategies, close reading, explicit instruction, and text-dependent questions. 

Alignment with Evidence-Based Recommendations

Recommendation 1: Decoding Multisyllabic Words
Fully aligns/supports

The S.P.I.R.E. materials are fully aligned with this recommendation of the IES Practice Guide. The intervention demonstrates strengths in identifying the level of students’ word-reading skills and teaching vowel and consonant letter-sounds and combinations, as necessary. The panel found evidence of built in pre- and post-assessments for every stage. However, evidence of explicit guidance for feedback was not found.

Recommendation 2: Fluency Building
Partially aligns/supports

The S.P.I.R.E. materials are partially aligned with this recommendation of the IES Practice Guide. Materials include clear evidence of reading multiple times for varied purposes but do not include instructional time for reading with prosody.  Teachers will need to supplement in this area.

Recommendation 3: Comprehension Building
Does not align/support

The S.P.I.R.E. materials are not aligned with this recommendation of the IES Practice Guide. The materials will not help the teacher enact this IES recommendation.

Recommendation 4: Practice with Stretch Texts
Does not align/support

The S.P.I.R.E. materials are not aligned with this recommendation of the IES Practice Guide. Teachers will need to supplement all indicators within this recommendation. The review panel did not find evidence of electronic supports for independent reading within the program materials.

Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Practices

Criterion 1: Teacher Guidance
Does not align/support

The S.P.I.R.E. materials were not found to support the enactment of this culturally and linguistically sustaining practice.

Criterion 2: Cultural Competence and Sociopolitical Consciousness
Does not align/support

The S.P.I.R.E. materials were not found to support the enactment of this culturally sustaining practice.

Criterion 3: Supporting Multilingual and Bidialectal Learners
Does not align/support

The S.P.I.R.E. materials were not found to support the enactment of this linguistically sustaining practice.