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What is Reading Recovery?
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Learn about
Reading Recovery lessons for children and its professional
development for teachers. See Reading Recovery children and
teachers at work.
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Reading Recovery is a short-term early intervention for the lowest
achieving first grade students. The program serves the children most
at risk of reading and writing failure.Children make accelerated progress
in twelve to twenty weeks, and the goal is for them to reach the average
level in their classrooms. In the past fourteen years, more than 6,744
struggling first grade students in 36 Fort Bend schools have received
assistance in learning to read through Reading Recovery.
Descubriendo la Lectura (DLL) is the reconstruction of Reading Recovery
in Spanish and is designed for first graders having difficulty learning
to read and write in classrooms in which the language of instruction
is Spanish. DLL serves as a safety net for children having difficulty
in any good bilingual classroom program. It also can serve as a pre-referral
program for a small number of children who may need specialized longer-term
help. Data collected on all children in both DLL and Reading Recovery
provide compelling evidence of this intervention's effectiveness.
Information is adapted from a longer document prepared by Descubriendo
la Lectura trainers Dr. Yvonne Rodríguez and Dr. Cynthia Rodríguez,
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Unique
Features
Reading Recovery/DLL has many features that make it a unique and successful
early literacy intervention program for first grade emerging readers
and writers.
- Early intervention to prevent failure
- Tutoring in addition to classroom instruction
- Intense individualized lessons by a specially trained Reading
Recovery teacher
- Short-term acceleration, approximately 12-20 weeks
- Lessons tailored to the child's individual needs and build on
the student's strengths
- Students learn strategies to help them become independent readers
and writers
- Daily writing activity aids in learning to read
- Early intervention to prevent failure
Who
can participate in Reading Recovery?
It is important to note that most first grade children do not need
Reading Recovery lessons, however, the one-on-one instruction is
necessary for the lowest in first grade, as small group interventions
do not meet their unique learning needs. Reading Recovery is open
to first grade children who are most in need of extra help in reading
and who have been in school for about one year and who have not
been retained in first grade. Selection for Reading Recovery is
based on recommendation by the teacher and performance on the Observation
Survey, a test of reading and writing. The six measures used to
evaluate the students are:
- Letter Identification: 54 characters (61 in Spanish)
- Word Assessment: 20 high frequency words
- Concepts About Print: book handling concepts, concepts about
printed language
- Writing Vocabulary: write all words they know within ten minutes
- Dictation Task: measures ability to analyze sounds in words
- Text Reading Level: highest text level read with 90% accuracy
What
are the outcomes of the Reading Recovery program?
During this relatively short-term intervention, children not only
make progress, they achieve accelerated progress, catch up with their
peers, and continue to learn on their own without further intervention.
Students who successfully complete Reading Recovery develop effective
reading and writing strategies and are able to read the average readers
in there classroom. These children are expected to become independent
readers who enjoy reading and writing. By intervening early on, Reading
Recovery can halt the cycle of failure for at-risk children and can
enable them to become independent readers and writers who can fully
participate with other first grade students in their classroom instruction,
reading at average or above levels.
What helps to make the Reading Recovery program
successful?
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Samuel Ridgegate Elementary
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- Reading Recovery lessons place emphasis on reading for meaning.
Students are taught to use a number of ways to figure out unknown
words. These skills are applied when reading and writing.
- The Reading Recovery teachers are highly trained professionals
who have participated in a year-long training course through a
university.
- Communication and collaboration between the classroom teacher
and Reading Recovery teacher fosters accelerated progress for
the student.
- Parents are asked to take part by listening to their child read
one or two books each evening. In addition, parents are asked
to visit the school in order to watch their child read and write
during a Reading Recovery lesson.
- Parents are asked to be sure their child attends school each
day so that no Reading Recovery lessons are missed.
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What is a typical
Reading Recovery lesson?
Feb Level 5 - April Level 17 |
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A typical thirty-minute Reading Recovery lesson consists of the
following:
- Rereading familiar books
- Recording the running record on a previously introduced book
- Learning how words work using magnetic letters
- Writing activity
- Introduction and reading of a new book
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Participants’ View of Reading Recovery
Parent Responses
"I was extremely pleased
with this program. I am very happy that it exists. I was greatly concerned
about Seth before we got the call about the program." - Anonymous
"I am forever grateful for this program and its amazing benefits
for my son and others!"
- Anonymous -
"Estoy muy agradecida con los maestros de mi hijo porque me lo ayudaron
mucho. Este ha sido su mejor año." - Anonymous -
Parent tips
Set the Atmosphere
- Help your child find a quiet, comfortable place to read.
- Have your child see you as a reading model.
- Read aloud to your child. Reread favorite stories.
- Read with your child.
- Discuss the stories you read together.
- Recognize the value of silent reading.
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Responding to Errors in Reading Based on the way most of us were taught
to read, we have told the child to "sound it out" when he or she comes
to an unknown word. Phonics is an important part of reading, with reading
for meaning the end goal. To produce independent readers who monitor and
correct themselves as they read, the following prompts are recommended
before saying "sound it out."
- Give your child wait time of 5 to 10 seconds. See what he or
she attempts to do to help himself or herself.
- “What would make sense there?”
- “What do you think that word could be?”
- “Use the picture to help you figure out what it could
be.”
- “Go back to the beginning and try again.”
- “You read that word before on another page.
See if you can find it.”
- Tell your child the word.
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Most important, focus on what your child is doing well and attempting
to do. Remain loving and supportive. When your child is having difficulty
and trying to work out the trouble spots, comment such as the following
are suggested:
- “Good for you. I like the way you tried to work that out.”
- “That was a good try. Yes, that word would make sense
there.”
- “I like the way you looked at the picture to help yourself."
- “I like the way you went back to the beginning of the
sentence and started again.”
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Source: Invitations by Regie Routman
Resources
One way that the Reading Recovery program provides on-going professional
development for educators is through the publication of the latest research
and articles. Below is a link to the Reading Recovery Council of North
America’s (RRCNA) website, where you will find more information
about the program, upcoming conferences, new research, teacher tips, and
more.
Teacher Application
Participants View on Reading Recovery training:
"Reading Recovery has made me a better literacy teacher."
"Reading Recovery has provided me with a lot of information that
is easily incorporated into my classroom. I feel much more confident in
helping low progress students."
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