Intense Reading Intervention Sandi Bidwell
Reading Recovery is a highly researched first grade early intervention
program that aims to assist students to reach an average level of their
peers in reading. Students are selected by a test called the
Observation Survey. This assessment tests letter knowledge, sight word
knowledge, book knowledge (called Concepts About Print), writing skills,
letter sounds, and text reading level. The 4 students who are
indentified as needing the most intervention are selected in September,
and then again in January.
The program is a temporary
intervention, lasting a maximum of 20 weeks. At that point the goal is
that for every two classes serviced, 80% of students will be at an
average with the other children in their class. Those students who have
not met that goal will then move into a longer intervention with the
benefit of an entire 20 weeks of one-to-one observations and records to
assist in designing an individual educational plan. Lessons are
one-to-one, and last at least 30 minutes
Lessons include reading
familiar books, writing, word work, fluency, and problem solving on new
materials. Books are carefully leveled to insure success.
Parents are an integral part of this program. Children bring home books
to read each night, as well as a sentence to reassemble. These are
used to reinforce the learning from that day. Parents are invited to
observe a lesson in order to better understand the components of the
lesson.