Struggling readers … help is out there!
My favourite quote, which I write in all books I gift to my past pupils, comes from Dr Seuss:
‘The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.’
But, what happens if you can’t read proficiently? How to you access a whole world of learning and education if you can’t make sense of the strange squiggles and patterns on the page in front of you?
The ability to read is fundamental and for lots of children comes with practice, but for some this skill requires more support. After many years as a Primary teacher I was presented with the opportunity to train as a Reading Recovery teacher. This yearlong training and ongoing continuing professional development has given me a fascinating insight and understanding of the skills required to become ‘a reader’ and provided me with the most rewarding years of my career so far.
What is Reading Recovery?
Reading Recovery was designed for Key Stage 1 students who are experiencing difficulties with reading and writing. It was developed in New Zealand by Dame Marie Clay, an educator and psychologist. Reading Recovery has been successfully implemented in many other countries including Australia, United States of America, and Canada. The ‘program’ is constantly being refined and evaluated based on over 30 years of ongoing research.
Reading Recovery teachers must be experienced classroom teachers who participate in a year of training with a Reading Recovery tutor followed by ongoing professional learning to update and refine their skills.
What are the benefits of Reading Recovery?
There is no script or sequence prescribed as each child is unique. Reading Recovery teachers design lessons to accelerate children using specific procedures and a lesson framework. All parts of the lesson framework work from the child’s strengths and what is known to teach for what is still under construction.
How effective is Reading Recovery?
Reading Recovery has been recognised as an example of good practice in literacy education by the European Literacy Policy Network.
Monitoring evidence in the UK shows consistently high outcomes sustained for more than 20 years. Children who complete the intervention at age 6 have been followed through to national assessments at age 11, at which point four out of five were still operating within or above national expectations in reading.
Aside from the measured successes, nothing warms a teacher’s heart like a child’s new found confidence, or being able to read the signs and text in the world around them as they begin to see themselves as ‘a reader’. As a Reading Recovery teacher I am privileged to be able to play a part in those first steps towards the places they will go.