Why authentic reading experiences?

Each day, Reading Recovery® students experience lessons that have been created by expert literacy teachers. In planning, these Reading Recovery teachers attend to analysis of the previous day’s lesson and the learner’s patterns of reading behaviors observed over time, as well as the child’s oral language, cultural and background knowledge, and their likes and dislikes. Our goals are to support the acquisition of an effective literacy processing system, to accelerate the student to the level of their peers, and to foster independence that is coupled with a love for reading, writing, and talking about texts. To ensure these goals, Reading Recovery students experience multiple readings of authentic texts in each lesson. This discussion focuses on supporting the learner’s acquisition of a literacy processing system by reviewing the important contributions of the child’s daily reading of connected text found in stories or information books. These materials are authentic texts which offer stories or informational content that is engaging, meaningful, and relevant to the reader. Authentic texts encourage message getting and problem solving and thus provide rich opportunities for acquiring a literacy processing system. The authentic reading that the student does throughout the lesson is an important springboard to acceleration. Reading Recovery lessons are designed to offer three opportunities for reading continuous text in each lesson. These include (a) the daily rereading of several familiar books, (b) the independent reading of yesterday’s new book, and (c) the reading of a new story purposefully selected and introduced by the teacher based on knowledge gained from prior lessons.

Why reread familiar books?

The student’s rereading of familiar books is of paramount importance and while the range of text choices may be monitored by the teacher, the student is also allowed to make choices; this autonomy encourages confidence and a sense of being in control. These daily, independent readings create opportunities for the student to gain efficiency with the orchestration of literacy processing strategies. Rereading familiar stories also allows the student to solidify new learning that might include learning new vocabulary or solving a new word on the run by applying phonics skills or by analyzing words parts (e.g., chunks). Clay (2016) also shares that the orchestration of processing information will occur more quickly with each rereading and because the language patterns and message are familiar, the student’s fluency will increase. Students take familiar books home daily for additional readings. This creates the opportunity for more learning because “rereading familiar books also allows the reader to discover new things about print” (Clay, 2016, p. 112). This aligns with both Allington (2015) and Foorman and colleagues (2006) who convey that the amount of reading, both volume and time, that students engage in is an essential factor in their reading development and improvement.

What is learned during the reading of yesterday’s new book?

During each lesson, students independently read the new book introduced in the previous lesson. The teacher takes a running record in order to record reading behaviors and gather evidence of the student’s emerging and strengthening literacy processing behaviors. The teacher’s observations and records of behaviors such as monitoring, rereading, and self-correcting are indicative of the child’s awareness of reading for meaning and independent problem-solving. The teacher bases ongoing instructional decisions and the selection of future books on these observations.

What is involved in selecting the new book?

Clay (2016) provides teachers specific guidance for selecting the new book. She advises to “(c)hoose the new book very carefully … keeping in mind his strengths and what might be challenging for him at this time” (p. 114) and suggests thinking about

• what the student wants to read,

• any background knowledge that might support student access to the text,

• the anticipated success and enjoyment, and

• any new learning that may result from this reading.

The knowledge that teachers possess about each student allows them to select a text that offers a balance of opportunities for the reader’s successful processing and successful problem-solving. Because the teacher is basing selection on her observations and knowledge of the individual, each child reads a unique set of books—there is no set of prescribed titles or sequenced set of texts that each child must read.

What are the goals of the book introduction and first reading?

It is valuable for both the teacher and student when the teacher is able to say, “I am so excited to share this book that I chose just for you. I think you will like it!” knowing that the student’s motivation to read will also support new learning that is “added into the integrated networks of knowledge that this child already controls” (Clay, 2016, p. 114). In the introduction, the teacher explains the gist of the story and familiarizes students with any language or phrasing that might be unknown including names and new vocabulary. Following the introduction, the first reading is intended to provide the student an opportunity to read with fluency and understanding and to work on problem-solving behaviors with the help of the teacher as needed. The child is not left to struggle alone. The teacher’s prompts have two aims: to improve the reader’s processing on continuous text and to support the reader’s ongoing development of a literacy processing system (Clay, 2016, p. 117).

Summary

As we reflect upon goals for our students—to acquire strong literacy processing systems, to accelerate, and to show independence that is coupled the development of a love for reading—we must remember that there is nothing more powerful than the reading of authentic text that takes place beside teachers who are invested in their students. The use of authentic texts, those books which offer language-rich contexts, are key to “building a processing system that will deal with literacy tasks” (Clay, 2016, p. 127) and ultimately the student’s “neural network for working on written language that learns to extend itself” (Clay, 2016, p. 128). Thus, the importance of authentic reading experiences with Reading Recovery students.

References

Allington, R. L. (2015). Summers are critical if we want to close the rich/ poor reading achievement gap. The Journal of Reading Recovery, 14(2), 55–63.

Clay, M. M. (2015). Change over time in children’s literacy development. Heinemann. Clay, M. M. (2016). Literacy lessons designed for individuals (2nd ed.). Heinemann.

Foorman, B. R., Schatschneider, C., Eakins, M. N., Fletcher, J. M., Moats, L., & Francis, D. J. (2006). The impact of instructional practices in grades 1 and 2 on reading and spelling achievement in high poverty schools. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 31(1), 1–29.

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Dr. Dana Hagerman serves as a Reading Recovery trainer and assistant professor at National Louis University. Her research focuses on early literacy, language development, identity, and issues of social justice and equity.