The Academic Success Blog by Great Leaps

TIPS FOR SUMMER SCHOOL SUCCESS: What parents can do for an engaging, educational summer with your elementary school child.

TIPS FOR SUMMER SCHOOL SUCCESS: What parents can do for an engaging, educational summer with your elementary school child.

She asked me, “How much time a day would I have to devote to meeting what she needs for summer school? Where do I find out about everything the school needs for her to be able to do? Some people showed me some pretty expensive and time consuming programs, should I consider these?.”


I responded. “I think you can do everything you need for her this summer in about an hour a day, Monday through Friday.  Education is not about checklists and meeting requirements; it’s about her learning and gaining essential skills so she can achieve a love of learning and accomplishment.

Great Leaps Reading Research with Twice Exceptional Children by Dr. Gwen Ashley

Great Leaps Reading Research with Twice Exceptional Children by Dr. Gwen Ashley

I recently conducted a multiple baseline across subjects’ study, using the Great Leaps for Reading Digital software with elementary students that had both behavioral and literacy deficits. An excerpt from the study can be found below.

Building Word and World Knowledge

Building Word and World Knowledge

From the author Ken Campbell's speech at the NYC Everyone Reading conference in February 2021.   Let’s open right off – reading is not figuring out...

14 Characteristics of Good Remedial Teaching

14 Characteristics of Good Remedial Teaching

1. Remedial instruction should not be carried out during activities that the student loves. 

This often involves some sacrifice and flexibility from the instructor. After school may seem like a prime time for tutoring, but if this is the time the student could be or wants to be in extracurricular activities, you may be encouraging failure.  Students have been taken out of PE and art for Great Leaps, not realizing these times may be the only reason a child comes to school. All efforts must be made to select a time preferable for all. Putting together a plan for success involves thinking about a variety of issues.

The Truth About Reading Fluency

The Truth About Reading Fluency

Very early in the Great Leaps Reading history, we were called a fluency program. This would make sense IF you correctly define fluency. Here are three definitions that are right on point:

Reading Rockets writes, “Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression.

Three Ways Teachers can Fundraise Money

Three Ways Teachers can Fundraise Money

Lately we’ve heard from many teachers that want to use our reading program with their students but can’t get it funded by their principal and don’t have the means within their own budget. It’s a very frustrating situation to be in. In fact the creation of Great Leaps came from necessity when there wasn’t money available at the school to hire additional staff or purchase a program to meet the struggling readers’ needs. We really sympathize with this problem and because of this we want to provide some resources and ideas that you can use to raise money and meet the needs of your students. 

The Critical Components of Reading Comprehension

The Critical Components of Reading Comprehension

As we work to build and enhance comprehension skills with emergent readers and those with reading difficulties, we must define comprehension.  From my behavioral perspective, I see three essential elements: the rate of reading must approach the rate of human conversation with a low number of errors (errors should be in the range of one percent); the reading must be done with proper inflection; and the student must have adequate word/world knowledge.

Elementary School Summer Reading Tips

Elementary School Summer Reading Tips

Summer is a great opportunity to inspire a love of reading in your child. While things may be closed and opportunities for vacations or sports are limited, reading is a way to let their minds be free and explore! We decided to provide a list from the author of Great Leaps, Kenneth Campbell, that he implemented with his own children to help you inspire reading and curiosity for the world in your kids this summer. 

Long Distance Learning with Great Leaps Reading

Long Distance Learning with Great Leaps Reading

Long distance learning has become more important than ever now because of schools closing down from the COVID-19 pandemic. This has left teachers and administrations scrambling to figure out how to continue education from home with a classroom of kids with no known date that things will return to normal. Teaching is already difficult when students are a captive audience in class, now imagine trying to coordinate with 20 different homes with varying levels of access to computers or devices. 

Luckily, Great Leaps Digital has already been implemented at a distance from private tutors for several years and we were at least able to help our schools and students get back up and running with their reading remediation.

Origins of Great Leaps by Author/Founder Kenneth Campbell

Origins of Great Leaps by Author/Founder Kenneth Campbell

This article was written by author Kenneth Campbell before Great Leaps was officially incorporated but it was being implemented for the first time ...

Great Leaps Reading Growth Shown by DIBELS

Great Leaps Reading Growth Shown by DIBELS

It is essential that the results reported from a reading intervention like Great Leaps are corroborated by peer-reviewed studies or independent progress tests that demonstrate the growth within the program. Studies have been done on Great Leaps showing substantive improvements in reading rate, accuracy and growth toward the independent reading level.

Great Leaps Reading Tutoring Launch

Great Leaps Reading Tutoring Launch

For 25 years, we have refined our reading program and taught over 500,000 students. For the last 5 years, we have refined our digital reading program and now have the capability to train and empower online tutors to reach students directly! 

*keep reading for our 25% off discount code towards the end! 

Liquid error (layout/theme line 2022): Could not find asset snippets/spurit_uev-theme-snippet.liquid