BOSTON - (Business Wire) Rigby, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Supplemental Publishers, one of the leading educational publishers, today announced plans to launch
Rigby Focus Forward, a groundbreaking intensive reading intervention program for grades 3
–8.
Scheduled for release in July 2008, Rigby Focus Forward addresses two major challenges facing upper elementary and middle-school students: how to acquire the critical reading and writing skills that they have struggled to grasp, and how to gain the confidence and motivation they need to be successful.
To meet these challenges, Rigby Focus Forward provides critical foundational reading and writing skills, high-interest student books with built-in scaffolding, connected comprehension instruction across whole groups and small groups, and predictable routines that make classroom management easy. Designed with English language learners (ELL) in mind, Rigby Focus Forward includes differentiated ELL strategies at point of use in daily lesson plans.
"We are very pleased to provide teachers with this powerful intervention program," said Erin Kinard, editorial director, Reading/ESL, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Supplemental Publishers. "Rigby Focus Forward will help striving readers experience daily achievement while building the long-term confidence they need to become successful readers and writers."
With Rigby Focus Forward, students not only read a book every day, but they engage in the writing process every day. The program’s Writing Build-ITs™ provide hands-on support for students as they put together the pieces of the writing puzzle to build basic sentences, paragraphs and reports. Technology support for Rigby Focus Forward includes Rigby READS Intervention Online for accurate placement, targeted diagnostic data and ongoing progress-monitoring, and Rigby Intervention Fluent Reader™ software to help students improve their fluency using repeated reading strategies. Rigby Focus Forward provides an initial in-service training and program DVD.
About Rigby
Rigby, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Supplemental Publishers, offers progressive learning solutions for grades pre-K–8 through supplemental and core reading and ELL programs using explicit and differentiated instruction to match students’ needs and ensure oral and written language proficiency. These programs provide rich reading and learning experiences, with research-based, scaffolded instructional pedagogy that supports teachers as they actively guide and assess student progress. Rigby also provides high-quality professional development programs through a unique ongoing model that increases teachers’ instructional excellence and results in improved student learning. To learn more, visit rigby.com.
About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Boston-based Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company is a global education company with approximately $2.5 billion in combined revenue. The Company publishes a comprehensive set of best-in-class pre-K–12 educational solutions, ranging from research-based textbook programs to instructional technology to standards-based assessments for students and educators. The Company also publishes an extensive line of reference works and award-winning literature for adults and young readers. With origins dating back to 1832, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt combines its tradition of excellence with a commitment to innovation. To learn more about Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, visit www.hmhco.com.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Supplemental Publishers
Carolyn Belanger, 978-661-1423
Director of Product Marketing
carolyn_belanger@hmco.com
