Reading Recovery is an early intervention (not-for-profit) program for first grade children who are falling behind in reading and writing. It was developed by Dr. Marie Clay in the 1970's in New Zealand and programs have been implemented in U.S.A., Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. Reading Recovery provides one-on-one tutoring 30 minutes daily by a specially trained teacher. It supplements classroom instruction and lasts an average of 12 - 20 weeks. Children develop strategies appropriate to their individual learning and thinking style to bring them to average levels of reading and writing.

Features

• Teachers use supportive conversations as the primary basis of instruction.
• Activities are individually designed on the basis of daily analysis of the child's progress. There are no prescribed steps and one approach is not emphasized over another. The teacher will use a mix of approaches to help the child decode the words one by one and to think about their overall meaning.
• Both phonics and whole language strategies are included depending on what is needed.

Books
Clay, Marie. (1994). Becoming Literate: The Construction of Inner Control. Heineman Educational Books.
Clay, Marie. (1998) By different Paths to Common Outcomes. Pembroke Publishers.
DeFord, Diane, Pinnel, Gay & Lyons, Carol. (1993). Partners in Learning: Teachers & Children in Reading Discovery. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Itzkoff, Seymour. (1996). Children Learning to Read: A Guide for Parents and Teachers. Greenwood Publishing Group.
Pinnell, Gay, DeFord, Diane & Lyons, Darol. (1991). Bridges to Literacy: Learning from Reading Recovery. General Publishing Company.

On-line Information
Reading Recovery Council of North America. Columbus, Ohio. (614) 292-7111. reeves.8@osu.edu

Canadian Institute of Reading Recovery. Toronto, Ontario. (416) 396-6322.

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Updated January 28, 2000