Salli Forbes

Response to Intervention: Following Three Reading Recovery Children on Their Individual Paths to Becoming Literate.

Research Findings: In the United States a shift has occurred in how children are identified for long-term special education services. Since 2004, U.S. funding for special education services has included a provision for early intervention services, focusing on the importance of providing supplemental instructional opportunities to students who are not successful in learning from the core classroom instruction. Commonly referred to as response to intervention, this model involves educators monitoring how well students respond to intervention instruction, with referral for special education services for those who make little progress. Practice or Policy: In this article, we propose that intervention instruction should be responsive to the learner as well as focus on how well the learner responds to the intervention. Given that contextual circumstances, including instructional experiences, impact the childs literacy achievement, providing intervention instruction that is contingent upon each childs literacy strengths and needs is the best way to ensure each childs successful response to intervention instruction. As an example of an intervention using responsive instruction, this article describes different instructional approaches provided by Reading Recovery teachers with 3 children who were initially the lowest readers and writers in their classes. All 3 children were able to progress to on-grade-level reading and writing proficiency as a result of the intervention.

A Review of: “Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals, Part One: Why? When? and How?, by M. M. Clay (2005).”

Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals, Part One: Why? When? and How? by the late Marie Clay replaces Reading Recovery: A Guidebook for Teachers in Training (Clay, 1993) as an instructional resource for Reading Recovery teachers. Reading Recovery is an early literacy intervention for the lowest achieving students in first grade. Students receive daily one-on-one instruction from a teacher trained in Reading Recovery. Since its development in the late 1970s, Reading Recovery has demonstrated positive results in accelerating the progress of 75% or more of the tutored students. Studies of sustained effects have found that a majority of Reading Recovery students continue to perform successfully on grade-level work without further intervention (Clay, 1993; G omez-Bellengé & Rodgers, 2007; Rowe, 1995; Sylva & Hurry, 1996). Literacy Lessons provides Reading Recovery teachers with new procedures, clarification of existing procedures, and extensive explanations about the research and theory that underpin this intervention. In addition, the book provides information about how Reading Recovery operates within school systems. Literacy Lessons includes much more theoretical explanation and more examples than the Reading Recovery guidebook (Clay, 1993). The theoretical