Reading Instruction in the Primary Grades
Instructional Materials
The national curriculum does not mandate any materials for reading instruction. However, all textbooks, educational computer programs, and other instructional materials must receive official approval from experts at the Ministry of Education and Science. Textbooks must get positive reviews from independent experts and confirmation by a Lithuanian language committee that the textbook corresponds to literary language requirements set out in Lithuanian law to be included in a textbook database. The choice of the textbook used for learning is the responsibility of the teaching staff, so schools and teachers can choose approved textbooks from an official database and buy them using students’ basket money. The principle of setting an amount for teaching funds for one student (the so-called student’s basket) is applied when allocating funds from state and municipal budgets for the corresponding year for the financing of formal education programs. Teaching funds allocated from the state budget are calculated and distributed pursuant to the methodologies approved by the government.
At the primary and lower secondary school levels, students use textbooks that include children’s stories, excerpts from various books, and reading comprehension exercises. In most cases, teachers can choose from several types of textbooks to use in instruction. Lithuanian schools also practice “independent reading,” wherein students read children’s books of their own choosing and occasionally present what they have read orally or in writing. Teachers are encouraged to develop language and reading materials by themselves, share materials with their colleagues, and buy commercial materials using funds from sponsors (e.g., parents).
Use of Technology
Despite the increase in the availability of literacy related computer programs, their use still is limited in Lithuanian schools. The national curriculum contains general statements about the use of technology (e.g., computers, tablets, interactive whiteboards, the Internet). A compulsory information technology course starts at Grade 5. In primary schools, teachers can use technology such as computers, tablets, interactive whiteboards, or smartphones in classroom instruction for digital reading at their discretion. Primary teachers can integrate technology into areas of education in addition to language and reading. Teachers who integrate Information and Communications Technology (ICT) into the educational process (not a requirement) aim to use ICT to modernize and improve teaching and learning and acquaint students with educational computer programs. In general, primary school students have greater access to computers and the Internet at home than in school.
Role of Reading Specialists
The use of reading specialists is virtually nonexistent in Lithuania. Occasionally, teachers’ assistants offer general help by assisting students who are having trouble grasping the standard educational program. However, these assistants generally do not have specialization in reading.
Second Language Instruction
All schools whose language of instruction is one other than Lithuanian (primarily Russian or Polish but also Belarusian, Ukrainian, English, German, or French) teach Lithuanian as a national language in addition to the language of instruction as a mother tongue. The syllabus for Lithuanian as a national language differs from that for Lithuanian as a mother tongue, but it includes a wide range of aims for speaking, writing, and reading in Lithuanian.
Accommodation Policies for Instruction and Testing
In addition to the general curriculum, special methodical recommendations for instruction (how to adapt general curriculum in primary education) are prepared regarding how to:
- Adapt mathematics, science, and language curricula
- Individualize content for children with special educational needs
- Adapt the curriculum for children with slight intellectual disabilities
- Adapt the curriculum for children with severe intellectual disabilities
Accommodations to test materials or to testing conditions determined by the municipal pedagogical psychological services are provided to students with physical or learning disabilities or limited Lithuanian language proficiency. However, standardized testing in Grade 4 has only been used since 2012 and is not mandatory.