About Reading Recovery
Reading Recovery is a short-term intervention for first graders having extreme difficulty with early reading and writing. Specially trained teachers work individually with students in daily 30-minute lessons lasting 12 to 20 weeks. After a full series of lessons, about 75% of these formerly lowest students reach grade-level standard.
Teaching Children
Learn about the parts of the lesson and the Observation Survey, the assessment tool developed by Reading Recovery's founder Dr. Marie Clay. Find out how Reading Recovery aligns with the five essential components of reading instruction and get answers to other questions.
Training
A highly qualified teacher improves outcomes, especially for struggling students. One of Reading Recovery's hallmarks is its initial yearlong training and ongoing professional development. Learn the training requirements for teachers, teacher leaders, and trainers. Locate training centers in the U.S. and Canada, and find out about the leadership group that guides Reading Recovery in North America.
Implementation
The typical Reading Recovery teacher works part-day in Reading Recovery and the other part-day in classrooms or small-group instruction -- bringing strong literacy teaching that benefits the whole school. Find out how to get started, including a look at costs and funding sources. Read how schools have successfully implemented Reading Recovery as part of a comprehensive literacy plan.
Research & Evaluation
The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) publishes intervention reports that assess research on beginning reading curricula and instructional strategies for kindergarten through Grade 3 students. By fall 2011, WWC had reviewed research studies for 171 programs in the beginning reading category, and only 26 met their rigorous standards. Of the 26 programs rated, Reading Recovery achieved top results, with positive ratings or potentially positive ratings across all four areas studied: alphabetics (phonemic awareness and phonics), fluency, comprehension, and general reading achievement. Read summaries of Reading Recovery research studies, research reviews, and critical analysis, and learn how data collected on every Reading Recovery student are collected annually.
Reading Recovery is a short-term intervention for first graders having extreme difficulty with early reading and writing. Specially trained teachers work individually with students in daily 30-minute lessons lasting 12 to 20 weeks. After a full series of lessons, about 75% of these formerly lowest students reach grade-level standard.
Teaching Children
Learn about the parts of the lesson and the Observation Survey, the assessment tool developed by Reading Recovery's founder Dr. Marie Clay. Find out how Reading Recovery aligns with the five essential components of reading instruction and get answers to other questions.
Training
A highly qualified teacher improves outcomes, especially for struggling students. One of Reading Recovery's hallmarks is its initial yearlong training and ongoing professional development. Learn the training requirements for teachers, teacher leaders, and trainers. Locate training centers in the U.S. and Canada, and find out about the leadership group that guides Reading Recovery in North America.
Implementation
The typical Reading Recovery teacher works part-day in Reading Recovery and the other part-day in classrooms or small-group instruction -- bringing strong literacy teaching that benefits the whole school. Find out how to get started, including a look at costs and funding sources. Read how schools have successfully implemented Reading Recovery as part of a comprehensive literacy plan.
Research & Evaluation
The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) publishes intervention reports that assess research on beginning reading curricula and instructional strategies for kindergarten through Grade 3 students. By fall 2011, WWC had reviewed research studies for 171 programs in the beginning reading category, and only 26 met their rigorous standards. Of the 26 programs rated, Reading Recovery achieved top results, with positive ratings or potentially positive ratings across all four areas studied: alphabetics (phonemic awareness and phonics), fluency, comprehension, and general reading achievement. Read summaries of Reading Recovery research studies, research reviews, and critical analysis, and learn how data collected on every Reading Recovery student are collected annually.
About the Lessons
Lesson Objective
The objective of Reading Recovery lessons is to promote accelerated learning so that students catch up to their peers, close the achievement gap as quickly as possible, and can benefit from classroom instruction without supplemental help.
Individually Designed Lessons
Daily 30-minute Reading Recovery lessons are individually designed and individually delivered by specially trained teachers. Using a wide range of procedures (Clay, 2005), teachers make moment-by-moment decisions within each lesson to support the individual child.
Assessment Based on Systematic Observation
In Reading Recovery, careful observation of reading and writing behaviors guides teaching decisions. As teachers gather data they align their teaching with what a child actually does. Reading Recovery teachers are trained to use Clay's Observation Survey (2002, 2005) to assess each child's strengths and confusions. The first 10 sessions provide further opportunities for assessment as the child engages in reading and writing. The teacher takes a running record of the child's progress on text reading every day and uses the data to plan future lessons. The teacher uses other observational data to inform instruction: daily lesson records, students’ writing, and change over time in reading and writing vocabulary. (see Measuring Outcomes)
Lesson Content
Each lesson consists of reading familiar books, reading yesterday’s new book and taking a running record, working with letters and/or words using magnetic letters, writing a story, assembling a cut-up story, and reading a new book. The teacher creates opportunities for the child to problem solve and provides just enough support to help the child develop strategic behaviors to use on texts in both reading and writing.
Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Spelling, Comprehension, and Fluency
Every lesson incorporates learning about letter/sound relationships. Children are taught to hear and record sounds and to work with spelling patterns. Reading Recovery encourages comprehension and problem solving with print so that decoding is purposeful and students read fluently.
Outcomes of Lessons
A series of Reading Recovery lessons has two positive outcomes:
Lesson Objective
The objective of Reading Recovery lessons is to promote accelerated learning so that students catch up to their peers, close the achievement gap as quickly as possible, and can benefit from classroom instruction without supplemental help.
Individually Designed Lessons
Daily 30-minute Reading Recovery lessons are individually designed and individually delivered by specially trained teachers. Using a wide range of procedures (Clay, 2005), teachers make moment-by-moment decisions within each lesson to support the individual child.
Assessment Based on Systematic Observation
In Reading Recovery, careful observation of reading and writing behaviors guides teaching decisions. As teachers gather data they align their teaching with what a child actually does. Reading Recovery teachers are trained to use Clay's Observation Survey (2002, 2005) to assess each child's strengths and confusions. The first 10 sessions provide further opportunities for assessment as the child engages in reading and writing. The teacher takes a running record of the child's progress on text reading every day and uses the data to plan future lessons. The teacher uses other observational data to inform instruction: daily lesson records, students’ writing, and change over time in reading and writing vocabulary. (see Measuring Outcomes)
Lesson Content
Each lesson consists of reading familiar books, reading yesterday’s new book and taking a running record, working with letters and/or words using magnetic letters, writing a story, assembling a cut-up story, and reading a new book. The teacher creates opportunities for the child to problem solve and provides just enough support to help the child develop strategic behaviors to use on texts in both reading and writing.
Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Spelling, Comprehension, and Fluency
Every lesson incorporates learning about letter/sound relationships. Children are taught to hear and record sounds and to work with spelling patterns. Reading Recovery encourages comprehension and problem solving with print so that decoding is purposeful and students read fluently.
Outcomes of Lessons
A series of Reading Recovery lessons has two positive outcomes:
- The child meets grade-level expectations and can make progress with classroom instruction, no longer needing extra help. (This is the outcome for approximately 75% of the children with a complete Reading Recovery intervention.)
- The child makes significant progress but does not reach grade-level expectations. Additional evaluation is recommended and further action is initiated to help the child continue making progress.