by Michelle Sharratt and Briare Wynn

Learning to read and write is a highly complex, intricate process. Imagine what this would be like if you were learning the English language at the same time as learning how to read and write. That’s what it’s like for many of the English language learners in our district.

We work in a very large and diverse school district that has full implementation of Reading Recovery. Almost half of our Reading Recovery students are at various points along the continuum of learning the English language, while also learning to read and write in English. Even though our English language learners generally achieve grade one standards in reading and writing and successfully discontinue from Reading Recovery, they still face many barriers as they take on the English language. We need to think carefully about the specific supports and ‘bridges’ needed to overcome these barriers.

Clay states that “above all, through all the detail of these early intervention procedures, teachers must remember that the child’s ultimate resource for learning to read and write is spoken language: all his new learning becomes linked in his brain with what he has already learned about the language he speaks” (Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals, Second Edition, p.24). Clay reminds us that oral language is the foundation of literacy and that it truly is a child’s first self-extending system.

By supporting the development of talk, Reading Recovery teachers can help English language learners build strong bridges to overcome some of the barriers they face when learning to read and write. The following key ideas are critical to oral language development of all children:

• Know and observe the learner’s current oral language structures. Know what structures are already known by the learner, in order to lift a child’s language within the cusp of his/her learning.
• Learn about their home language. Knowing the variation between a child’s home language and the English language (eg: structure, directionality, alphabet, intonation, etc.) can help you anticipate possible confusions or barriers.
• Have true conversations throughout the entire lesson. Active participation by both teacher and student in authentic, meaningful conversation should happen throughout the entire lesson, not just before the writing component. Research has shown that children learn language through conversations with literate adults so we need to arrange for this to happen across all lesson components.
• Reformulate and rephrase within genuine conversation. This is key to lifting a child’s oral language. Within genuine conversation, the teacher listens, takes on and reformulates, rephrases or extends the child’s ideas and language. The child then takes in the teacher’s language and continues the conversation. He may or may not take on the new language structures, but the more conversations that occur, the more possibility there is for lifting the child’s language.
• Find shared territories to discuss. Pursue common topics that allow for a shared understanding between teacher and child in order to continue to build complexity within the conversation. Conversations about shared books and experiences allow for a common vocabulary, structure and topic.

There are many more strategies and ideas to support English language learners, (which we will be exploring in our RRCNA Conference session) however; it must be noted that oral language is the foundational cornerstone over which the rest of the structure will be laid. As Clay brilliantly reminds us, let’s all “put our ears closer, concentrate more sharply, smile more rewardingly and spend more time in genuine conversation, difficult though it is. To foster children’s language development, create opportunities for them to talk, and then talk with them (not at them)” (Becoming Literate, p. 69).

Additional resources:
Clay, M.M. (2015). Becoming Literate: The Construction of Inner Control (Rev ed). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Clay, M.M. (2016). Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals. Second edition. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Michelle Sharratt is a Reading Recovery Teacher Leader in York Region District School Board, Ontario, Canada.

Briare Wynn is a Reading Recovery Teacher in York Region District School Board, Ontario, Canada.

Michelle Sharratt and Briare Wynn will be speakers at the 2019 National Reading Recovery & K-6 Literacy Conference, February 9-12, in Columbus, OH. Their session is titled: “English Learners: Breaking Barriers by Building Bridges”.

by Lisa Pinkerton

I have been thinking a great deal lately about the concept of book joy in education. I have come to believe that one of the most important goals I have as a teacher is to foster a sense of book joy in my students. Many of our Reading Recovery children come to us having had challenging, or even negative, classroom experiences around reading. From the first lesson, it is imperative that we help them to begin associating reading with pleasure. As Carol Lyons makes clear in Teaching Struggling Readers, emotions have a strong influence on learning and motivation.

In Reading Magic (2001), Mem Fox shares the power of reading aloud: “The fire of literacy is created by the emotional sparks between a child, a book, and the person reading. It isn’t achieved by the book alone, nor by the child alone, nor by the adult who’s reading aloud – it’s the relationship winding between all three, bringing them together in easy harmony” (p. 10). Building a relationship characterized by warmth and rapport with Reading Recovery students is a primary goal of teachers, and reading aloud provides an excellent practice for developing such relationships.

Roaming Around the Known is an ideal context for reading aloud to a Reading Recovery student. In Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals Marie Clay (2016) explains: “Of course reading to children can be part of ‘Roaming around the known.’ You can use it as a setting for rediscovering those things he knows, and if you make some of his own books at this time you will be able to incorporate what he knows in a deliberate way” (p. 32). She goes on to say: “You can also read many simple little books to the child, making even the simplest texts sound exciting (like Where’s Spot and Cat on the Mat). Your phrasing and intonation will make the story sound good. The child may want to join in or perhaps take over when you have a read a book more than once. Even the more competent readers will benefit from hearing how story reading should sound as part of ‘Roaming around the known.’ Choose books that are around the level they are able to read” (p. 32-33).

In addition to Where’s Spot, by Eric Hill, the following are a few of my favorite books to read aloud during roaming lessons:

• Dear Zoo, by Rod Campbell
• Go Away, Big Green Monster, by Ed Emberley
• The Monster at the End of This Book, by Jon Stone
• Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, by Mo Willems
• Elephant and Piggie series, by Mo Willems

Such read alouds can generate creative ways for writing about reading during roaming lessons. For instance, after reading Where’s Spot, students can decide where they want Spot to hide in their own version of the book, creating lift-the-flaps with sticky notes and adding words and labels. After reading Dear Zoo, students may write to the zoo requesting their own animals. After reading The Monster at the End of This Book, students may invent other ways to prevent the reader from turning the pages, or design their own monster to be discovered at the end of the book (or even themselves!). The possibilities for writing about Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus are endless. For example, students may simply change the title: Don’t Let the Pigeon ____________. Mo Willems’s Elephant and Piggie series is a delight to read aloud, and students can easily create speech bubbles for the two endearing friends.

The possibilities are endless for reading delightful picture books aloud to Reading Recovery students during Roaming Around the Known. I invite you to round up your personal favorites and share them with your students, fostering the easy harmony founded on a teacher-student relationship built on book joy.

Lisa Pinkerton is the Marie Clay Endowed Chair in Reading Recovery and Early Literacy at The Ohio State University. She loves reading aloud to students of all ages, including teachers. Lisa is a Preconference Institute speaker on Saturday, February 9th in Columbus, OH. She’ll be speaking along with Mary Fried, Kim Reynolds, and Jennifer Layne on “Problem Solving Together: Learning from Children Who Challenge Our Teaching”. Her concurrent sessions at National Conference will include “Best New Books for Grades 3-6” and “Re-inventing Author/Illustrator Studies (K-6)”. Visit rrcna.org/conferences for more information.

by Leslie McBane

Is it just me, or can every life experience find an apt metaphor in Reading Recovery teaching and learning? Cooking, for instance — the kitchen as a staging ground for “assembling working systems.”  People-watching during a lengthy airport layover — “observing and hypothesizing” during behind-the-glass sessions. And don’t even get me started on an “economy of words” — always helpful during spirited conversations with a significant other.

So, since my mind cannot help drawing comparisons (and aren’t we champions of analogous thinking?), when I started taking golf lessons this summer I found myself thinking of all the ways in which learning to golf can be like learning to read and write. If you prefer, it seems to be about the teaching of these complex tasks as well.

Many of you remember Julia Douetil’s fine JRR article in the fall of 2003, Ringing Recovery: The Experience of a Slow Learner Engaging in a Complex Process. Douetil likened the complex task of learning English bell ringing to Reading Recovery theory and practice. Read it this summer, if you haven’t done so, or read it again. Her engaging and masterful description of the complexity of the cognitive challenges in both endeavors is a treat!

What you’re getting here, on the other hand, is a raw and clumsy attempt to describe the highs and lows of learning along with a plea for each of us to attempt new things occasionally so that we can empathize with our students.

I embarked on my golfing journey because we recently joined a club and my husband has golfed nearly all his life. He purchased a set of clubs for me and we secured a pro to begin my instruction. Lesson one, teaching complex tasks to struggling learners, requires the most skilled instructors – not paraprofessionals like my husband. Plus, we like each other and after 37 years we hope to remain on the best of terms.

Starting to golf was much like a novice reader opening The Hippo in the Hole and wondering why her alphabetic skills were so inadequate for the task. I mean, do you know how many clubs are in the bag? What are they all for? A tennis player manages quite well with one racket. Is this how children feel when they are bombarded by the sheer number of words on the page? Or consider the teacher completing Assessment Training.  How can one manage the standard administration of six different tasks, not to mention the complexity of running record coding and scoring?

But back to golf. Armed with my new set of clubs (we didn’t overdo it pricewise – my husband is an eternal pragmatist) I arrived bravely at my first scheduled lesson. Caleb, the pro, was kind and confident both in his ability to teach me and in my ability to learn (another lesson here that goes without mentioning).

He wisely gave me three things to remember:
1. keep my left arm as straight as I could for as long as I could
2. keep my head down
3. and follow through.

Genius. Is that all there is? Heavens no! But that’s all I needed at the time, and it made me think: is too much information for the learner too much? Too much to digest, too much to integrate, too distracting from the task at hand (i.e., getting the message of the story). Or in my case, actually hitting the ball?

I felt buoyed by that first encounter. Yes, Leslie, you too will be able to golf! But alas, there was another lesson and another. And guess what? I got worse. Think of it as all going well at levels 3 and 4 and then at 7 and 8 where there is actual work beginning to happen, the bottom falls out. I’m talking integration.

You see, Caleb, in a subsequent lesson, broke the mechanics of the swing down for me, step by step. Think “stop at the point of error, reread, notice the first part…” you get the idea. The trouble is, you can’t swing in discrete steps. The very term itself suggests one continuous motion! Again, my analogous mind was working (even though my swing wasn’t). Sometimes, when we break down strategic action into “strategies,” children become mired in the steps, and the purpose of reading (“a meaning making problem solving activity”) can become obscured. Or, procedures taught to teachers in our training classes can become the focus, rather than responsive, contingent teaching using those procedures.

If you are little tired of golf at this point, I’m right there with you. But, stick with me a little longer because I gleaned a few more lessons out of my feeble attempts at this complex game. Each golf course is unique – there are no duplicates. But the tennis court remains the same the world over. I sound rather angry about tennis. Sorry. On golf courses, diabolical people move the pin around from time to time – you are never playing the exact same hole. This variation also has parallels in our Reading Recovery world. We ensure that children read many different books within a gradient of increasing challenge and we are careful to teach children to read, not just to read the book we’ve introduced that day.

Golf is all about efficiency. We’re after the lowest score, right? We want the drive straight down the fairway, the approach shot lofted onto the green and the short game is the most challenging of all. (A friend admonished: drive for show; putt for dough, He’s right). In teaching, our moves should be succinct and to the purpose, wasting no unnecessary time. We are constrained by the 30 minute lesson, by 12-20 weeks, and by the “clearest, most memorable example.”

Finally, I spend lots of time at the driving range but it’s very different than being out on the course. Aiming is really hard, I’ve discovered. What does this make you think of, with all the current focus on decoding and a simple view of reading?

So, as of this writing, I am still golfing. Sometimes daily. Am I improving? Possibly, but it doesn’t feel like it. Think of me as reading Baby Bear Goes Fishing right about now. I know more stuff, but I also know more of what I don’t know. But here’s the thing – I won’t improve unless I golf. Lots and lots of golf. What did Dr. Clay say about massive practice? Once in a great while I hit a great shot and I feel marvelous. Much like a child who has successfully problem-solved a hard bit. And that is what keeps me heading back to the practice range, back to the course. Plus, there’s always a lovely view and a glass of wine waiting at the clubhouse.

So, this summer, try something new and revel in the experience of being a learner. Your students will thank you. And who knows, you might just discover talents that you never knew you had!

Leslie McBane is a Reading Recovery teacher leader in Columbus, OH.

Leslie McBane will be a speaker at the 2019 National Reading Recovery & K-6 Literacy Conference, February 9-12, in Columbus, OH. Her session will be, “Old Friends: Using What is Known to Solve in Reading and Writing”.

Any views or claims expressed in The Reading Recovery Connections Blog are those of individual authors, not RRCNA.

by Maryann McBride

It’s summer and in Maryland that means blue crabs, sweet corn, and a good book! But are your students reading this summer, and if they aren’t, will they suffer the summer slide? The loss of reading levels happens to many children, and at-risk children are especially susceptible.

Dr. C.C. Bates and I have documented a way to decrease the slide for some students and help others maintain their achievements. We are so fortunate at the Clemson University Reading Recovery and Early Literacy Training Center for South Carolina, in cooperation with Coach Dabo and Kathleen Swinney’s All In Team Foundation and Scholastic Books, to be able to provide all of the children who successfully discontinue their lessons with 10 books for summer reading. We carefully select these books so that they will be easy enough for the kids to read independently. We also look for books with familiar characters, themes, and topics that will capture the children’s interest.

Getting books into the hands of kids is only one part of preventing summer slide. Getting children to read and reread books is tricky! Here are some of the steps and ideas we have found helpful.

First of all, we make a big deal out of the distribution of the books. This year, 150 children actually came to Clemson to receive their books. They walked through a line formed by the Tiger Band and Clemson’s Rally Cats. They heard a book read by Mrs. Swinney and members of the Clemson Tiger football team. Skins Hotdogs, a local southern hot dog restaurant, provided a hot dog lunch and The Pound Cake Man, a local food truck, gave the kids a “tiger” pound cake. Other kids across the state had other celebrations including cupcakes with flags representing their favorite books.

We also encourage teachers to introduce and read the selected books to the children. This helps with the unusual vocabulary, concepts, and ideas the books may contain. Many of the children have limited help at home.

Teachers have also found it helpful to give the children a stuffed animal to read with as a buddy. Local dollar stores had a run on these as well as small flashlights for the kids to use to read under the covers.

To remind the children to keep reading, some teachers send their students post cards from their summer vacations. The first post cards my students got were from Louisville, Kentucky, the site of this year’s Teacher Leader Institute. Other teachers make arrangements with parents to call throughout the summer.

Another school district opens its library once a week, alternating morning and afternoon so that parents who are working different shifts can bring their children. They have story time, a project, and a snack. They can trade books and the Reading Recovery teachers have familiar reading books for them to borrow and exchange.

One group has personal bookmobiles. They pull up to various apartment complexes and day care centers and provide children with treats and KEEP BOOKS purchased from The Ohio State University. Many other companies have special summer deals as well.

Successful summer reading projects need to create opportunity, motivation, and reminders throughout the summer months. Hopefully, some of these ideas will keep them reading!

Maryann McBride is a Reading Recovery teacher leader at Clemson University.  Follow her on Twitter @Maryann081153

Maryann McBride will be a speaker at the 2019 National Reading Recovery & K-6 Literacy Conference, February 9-12, in Columbus, OH. Her session is titled, “Fluent, Flexible, and Fast with Higher Level Text”.

Any views or claims expressed in The Reading Recovery Connections Blog are those of individual authors, not RRCNA.