From sharing exciting updates to spotlighting our members, the RRCNA blog is your resource for what’s new in the Reading Recovery Community. In 2023, we advocated that Reading Recovery works and explored how to put our beliefs into action. As 2024 begins, take a look back at some of our best posts from 2023.

Membership Spotlights

In 2023, we continued to highlight our members through two member-focused blog series. In Follow My Journey, we cheered on Courtney Smith as she graduated in late April and started following Heather Cherry’s journey as a Teacher Leader in Training. So far, Heather has just kept swimming through an overwhelming semester and reflected on words of wisdom from Winston Churchill. Our community also got to know RRCNA members better through a series of Membership Spotlights. Who knows? You could be highlighted next!

Data Highlights

In 2023, we launched a new blog series in partnership with IDEC, the International Data Evaluation Center. Authored by Kate Nelson, IDEC Manager at The Ohio State University, this series delves deeply into Reading Recovery’s annual data review.

Data Dives with IDEC: Delving Deeper into Student Growth

Student Growth and Outcomes: Zooming in on Accelerated Progress and Progressed Outcomes

Professional Development

Continuous professional development is a crucial tenet of Reading Recovery. From sharing how a student’s DLL lessons helped him look at print in efficient and effective ways to the importance of book selection in daily Reading Recovery lessons, this year’s professional development blog invited readers to reflect on their teaching and apply new tactics to lessons immediately.

Book Choice Matters Part One: Data, Motivation, and Engagement

Book Choice Matters Part Two: Text Variety and Lifelong Readers

Connected Text and Word Solving

Roaming Around the Known While Traveling Around the World: A New Perspective on Concepts About Print

The Print, Not the Pictures, Contains the Message

Advocacy

Whether we were sharing good news reaffirming positive outcomes for Reading Recovery or having tough conversations about the consequences of the latest wave of anti-science Science of Reading legislation, the Reading Recovery blog remained a voice for advocacy and reason.

Why a Lawsuit, Why Now?

When Doing the Right Thing is the Wrong Thing

Phonics is a Piece of the Puzzle, Not the Only Answer

What Works Clearinghouse again confirms positive outcomes for Reading Recovery

Dr. Sam Bommarito interviews Dr. Billy Molasso, Executive Director of RRCNA

RRCNA Community Updates

There is always something new happening at RRCNA! In the new year, continue to check out the blog for the latest news,  from incoming President updates to celebrating a successful LitCon.

In the first part of this blog, we examined the importance of using data when selecting books for an individual child and the critical role of motivation and engagement. In this installment, we will focus on the value of exposing students to various text types and the overarching goal of creating lifelong readers.

Text variety matters. Students should not be on a diet of the same type of texts or genre for an extended period of time. This will limit their growth as readers and writers. The variety of books ranges from predictable, decodable, familiar, and complex texts.

At the center of book selection is teacher decision-making. In Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals, Marie Clay wrote, “If there is any description of progressions in literacy learning it belongs not in the activities, not in the curriculum sequence, but in the heads of teachers, and it guides their every interaction with a learner or a group of learners” (p. 44). Clay stated, “Reading Recovery teachers gain experience using little books, and learn how to select books to assist individual children to read with success. They need to have a wide range of books to choose from to select the most facilitative, highly motivating books” (p. 113).

A wide range of books may include the following:

• Familiar
• Predictable
• Decodable
• Thematic
• Dual Language
• Situational
• Multicultural
• Student Choice
• Favorite Characters
• Poetry
• Joke Books
• Question and Answer Books
• How to Books
• Recipes
• Letters
• Student Writing
• Fairy Tales and Folktales
• Informational
• Chapter Books

Teachers often select their favorite books they want students to read. You know you have your favorites, such as animal books, fairy tales, a particular series, beloved characters, etc. Admit it… However, our likes and interests may not match what the students are excited about reading. For example, the teacher may love dogs, use every dog book in her collection, and introduce those books regularly to her students. However, motivation and engagement may be affected if a student is afraid of dogs or likes cats better. Not to mention, the texts may not match the student’s literacy processing capabilities at that moment in time. It is easy to get into a rut or habit and select books you are familiar with and have had success with previously. However, a student may come along one day and…  you know the rest. The child’s first reading of the new book may be challenging, with limited opportunities to improve or accelerate literacy processing. Not to mention how the student feels about themselves as a reader after struggling through the text or tackling new learning. We have the tools, training, and texts to select the just right book for the student to have a successful first reading with fluency and strong processing if we take the time to be thoughtful and intentional.

“Arrange for massive opportunities for the child to read enchantingly interesting texts, of just the right difficulty level, fluently. Vary the kinds of stories you select, to foster flexibility. Change the authors and change styles” (LLDI, p. 39) Dr. Clay advised.

It is important to note the Reading Recovery book list has recently been updated, and new titles are being added yearly to increase the variety of texts needed to meet the needs of students and their individual differences. Furthermore, Spanish-language books have now been added to the booklist, and texts are searchable by many factors.

As intervention teachers, it is imperative we prepare the Reading Recovery students to be successful not only in lessons with us but also in their classroom. That means providing them with a variety of texts, with the right amount of rigor, to help prepare them for grade-level curriculum and expectations. We must teach students to self-select texts, orient themselves to the text, read fluently and independently, and know how to grapple with the tricky parts they encounter while reading. On page 188 of LLDI, Clay mentioned that “Throughout the lesson series, the Reading Recovery teacher has progressively handed control over the reading and writing activities to the child. The aim has been to make him independent enough to succeed in the everyday practices of reading and writing in the classroom.” Arranging for diverse texts in reading and facilitating a wide range of conversations and topics in writing gives students the advantage of confidently and successfully continuing to make steady progress back in the classroom.

Reading Recovery educators have the gift of working with students one-on-one. We can customize each lesson based on our observations, data, and knowledge of the individual child. “Two kinds of learning must be kept in balance: on the one hand performing with success on familiar material strengthens the decision-making processes of the reader, and on the other hand independent problem-solving on new and interesting texts with supportive teaching extends the ability to problem-solve” (LLDI, p. 21). Book selection is critical for this type of learning to occur when choosing familiar books and a new book each day.

We also need to keep the end goal in mind — independent readers who can and want to access books to learn and enjoy for their lifetime. In Becoming Literate, Clay wrote, “Literacy activities can become self-managed, self-monitored, self-corrected and self-extending for most children, even those who initially find transitions into literacy hard and confusing” (p. 345). Our teaching has to build on the strengths of the child. We must be cognizant of what to teach, how to best meet each particular child’s needs, and when to intervene as we steadily lift the level of challenge. In Stirring the Waters (1999), John Guthrie wrote, “It seems self-evident that self-improvement is associated with the desire to be competent and the belief in one’s capacity for increasing competence” (p. 150). Simply put, competence builds confidence. As students realize they are capable, they are willing to take more risks and rely on their own abilities.

As you select books for your students, consider these questions:

• Based on your data, does this text allow the student to use what they know and provide teaching and further learning opportunities?
• Do the child’s reading and writing complexity match? Are they progressing in both?
• Is this book relevant to the child? Are they excited to read the books that you pick?
• Are you examining books that are from a variety of publishers and represent a range of genres?

If you answer no to any of the questions above, what needs to change in your planning and teaching? Who might you work with to extend your repertoire? It takes practice and continued learning to increase our ability to meet Clay’s charge to select a book that will “challenge the child’s processing system but not upset it” (LLDI, p. 113). In When Kids Can’t Read (2nd Ed.) Kylene Beers ends with a quote from a former colleague, Teri Lesene, “When we hand the right book to the right kid at the right time, then we’re taking the right steps toward creating lifelong readers” (p. 318).

Kathleen A. Brown has worked for 37 years as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, staff developer, and Reading Recovery teacher. She has served as the Reading Recovery teacher leader in a large urban district in California for the last 22 years. Kathleen has provided early literacy training and coaching for the district and has presented at local, state, and national conferences. Kathleen serves on the Reading Recovery Council of North America board as secretary and is affiliated with St. Mary’s College.

Dr. Tracee Farmer is a Reading Recovery Trainer and Partnerships in Comprehensive Literacy Trainer at National Louis University. Tracee has been in education for 30 years. In addition to her work in Reading Recovery, Tracee taught 1st-3rd grades, K-5 special education, small group interventions, and was a literacy coach.

References:

Afflerbach, P. (2022). Teaching readers (not reading): Moving beyond skills and strategies to reader-focused instruction. Guilford Publications.

Beers, G. K. (2023). When kids can’t read, what teachers can do: A guide for teachers, grades 4-12. Heinemann.

Clay, M. M. (2015a). Becoming literate: The construction of inner control (Rev. ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Clay, M. M. (2016). Literacy lessons designed for individuals (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Clay, M. M. (2019). An observation survey of early literacy achievement (4th ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Ferlazzo, L. (2023, February 1). Gholdy Muhammad champions “unearthing joy” in her new book (opinion). Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-gholdy-muhammad-champions-unearthing-joy-in-her-new-book/2023/02

Guthrie, J. T. (1999). The young reader as a self-extending system: Motivational and cognitive underpinnings. In J. S. Gaffney & B. J. Askew (Eds.), Stirring the waters: The influence of Marie Clay (pp. 149-164). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Every day in a Reading Recovery lesson, we have the opportunity to introduce a new book to the child sitting beside us. In Literacy Lesson Designed for Individuals (LLDI), Clay advised us to select a book that “should challenge the child’s processing system but not upset it” (p. 113). That’s not an easy task.

Book selection is at the heart of our work as Reading Recovery teachers. Matching texts to readers requires educators to examine various factors when choosing books for individual students. In this blog, we will explore data that will help support book selection, the role of motivation and engagement, the variety of texts that students should be exposed to, and the overarching goal of creating lifelong readers.

The first thing many teachers think about is the child’s instructional level, which is important, but selecting a book is about more than a level. We need to look at all the data that is available. At the beginning of the lesson series, teachers have data from the Observation Survey (OS) and often data from the Record of Oral Language. In addition to records of oral reading, teachers have observational notes taken across the lesson, specifically during familiar reading and the reading of the new book. In LLDI, Clay guided teachers to record “what you did and how the child responded” (p. 35) on lesson records. This will help you determine whether your teaching moves or prompts were helpful.

The writing portions of the lesson are also important. Clay wrote that writing is the “Cinderella of the literacy world” (OS, p. 101). Through the writing, we can notice what children attend to in print, what structures may be emerging or controlled, and how they approach problem-solving. When analyzing your records, consider what the child initiated and where support was needed in both reading and writing. These observations offer valuable insight to help guide our ability to look at each book through the lens of the individual child and consider what opportunities and challenges are between the covers.

Motivation and engagement are two factors worth pondering and exploring when selecting texts. In Peter Afflerbach’s book Teaching Readers, Not Reading, he states, “The relationship between motivation and engagement is characterized by reciprocity:  Engagement influences motivation, and vice versa” (p. 107). He goes on further to explain, “Motivation and engagement influence both reading development and reading achievement. The role of motivation and engagement in human learning is documented across decades of research, and it has been a focus of high-quality teaching for millennia” (p.106).

What are some of the factors that fall under the umbrella of motivation and engagement?

• Prior knowledge
• Life experiences
• Interests
• Cultural relevance
• Language considerations
• What is within the student’s control?
• Success
• Joy

The many facets that drive motivation and engagement depend on the students you work with during literacy teaching and learning. Selecting texts without knowing your students well is like fumbling around in the dark in a new location, hoping to find the light switch. Although you may eventually find the light switch, along the way, you trip over some shoes, run into some furniture, and stub your toe on the edge of the bed. A verbal outburst may follow as well. That is what it feels like for students trying to maneuver through a text that is too hard or for which the student has little prior knowledge, experience, interest, cultural connection, or success. There is no joy involved, just frustration and drudgery. In an Education Week interview on February 1, 2023, Gholdy Muhammad voiced the following, “I suggest making joy a learning goal.” She goes on to encourage educators with this thought, “I want teachers to consider texts that are responsible to the histories, identities, literacies, and liberation of students.”

Book choice is much more than levels, sources of information, and strategic processing. We must equally consider other aspects, such as motivation and engagement. Otherwise, we will only target our instruction in a limited way, which will bring about limited success. Kate DiCamillo sums it up best: “Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift.”  As educators, we must do our due diligence to get to know our students so well that book choice is tailored to each student’s needs and our students thrive in literacy learning.

In the second part of this blog, we will address using a variety of texts across the lesson series and questions to consider when selecting books to help students create a self-extending system and become lifelong readers and learners.

Kathleen A. Brown has worked for 37 years as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, staff developer, and Reading Recovery teacher. She has served as the Reading Recovery teacher leader in a large urban district in California for the last 22 years. Kathleen has provided early literacy training and coaching for the district and has presented at local, state, and national conferences. Kathleen serves on the Reading Recovery Council of North America board as secretary and is affiliated with St. Mary’s College.

Dr. Tracee Farmer is a Reading Recovery Trainer and Partnerships in Comprehensive Literacy Trainer at National Louis University. Tracee has been in education for 30 years. In addition to her work in Reading Recovery, Tracee taught 1st-3rd grades, K-5 special education, small group interventions, and was a literacy coach.

References:

Afflerbach, P. (2022). Teaching readers (not reading): Moving beyond skills and strategies to reader-focused instruction. Guilford Publications.

Beers, G. K. (2023). When kids can’t read, what teachers can do: A guide for teachers, grades 4-12. Heinemann.

Clay, M. M. (2015a). Becoming literate: The construction of inner control (Rev. ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Clay, M. M. (2016). Literacy lessons designed for individuals (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Clay, M. M. (2019). An observation survey of early literacy achievement (4th ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Ferlazzo, L. (2023, February 1). Gholdy Muhammad champions “unearthing joy” in her new book (opinion). Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-gholdy-muhammad-champions-unearthing-joy-in-her-new-book/2023/02

Guthrie, J. T. (1999). The young reader as a self-extending system: Motivational and cognitive underpinnings. In J. S. Gaffney & B. J. Askew (Eds.), Stirring the waters: The influence of Marie Clay (pp. 149-164). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Winston Churchill once said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; It is the courage to continue that counts.” Reflecting on the last few months of teacher leader training, I know I’ve struggled, strived, and overcome many challenges and sometimes failed. I’m comforted by the idea that failure is not fatal. Some would even say it’s necessary. Otherwise, how would you learn to persevere? Personally, without failing once in a while, I might not recognize how I need to grow.

Lesson analysis has certainly allowed me to grow this year. It is similar to looking in a mirror for the first time in a long time — you suddenly see what you couldn’t see before. Your teaching choices are laid bare and ready for examination. Are you prompting for the appropriate action? Is your teaching language precise? Have you set the stage for success? Aye-yai-yai. Observing yourself closely and acknowledging your areas of opportunity is overwhelming, humbling, and powerful. It’s a little painful, too, but in my experience, growth usually is.

As someone who tends to avoid confrontation (another area of growth opportunity), I was not looking forward to a particular assignment in the fall. I needed to read and listen to criticisms of Reading Recovery and think of how to respond to each point of contention. As those who are reading may have concluded, I listened to several episodes of a particular podcast and read a few articles in opposition. Although I knew it would be difficult, I was not prepared for how it would affect me, not only to hear the spread of misinformation and gross misrepresentation of Marie Clay but also to feel emotionally hijacked in a way that had me questioning my understanding of the truth.

Ultimately, I learned a great deal from the assignment. I finally understand why so many people feel compelled to ignore entire bodies of research for a single story. I am more prepared to have difficult conversations and more inspired to bring awareness to the truth about our program. After all, Winston Churchill also said, “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something in your life.” Reading Recovery is certainly worth standing up for!

Broken Arrow Reading Recovery Team

As we approach the holiday break, I am thankful to have completed the first half of my training and for all the growth I’ve experienced. God has given me grace and mercy through my striving and times of failing forward. He has also surrounded me with the most amazing and supportive family, friends, leaders, and Reading Recovery team. I will continue to push myself to be better today than I was yesterday because, in the words of, you guessed it, Winston Churchill, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm,” and “to improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”

The Reading Recovery Council of North America is thrilled to announce Heather Cherry as the 2023 Teacher Leader Award recipient. Heather represents Broken Arrow Public Schools in Oklahoma. A graduate of Northeastern State University with over 22 years of experience teaching, she will be part of the first training class at Oklahoma State University.

Heather’s teacher leader award was made possible by generous donations from friends and supporters of the Foundation for Struggling Readers. Please give generously to the Foundation for Struggling Readers this annual appeal to fund advocacy, professional development & research. 

By Michele Dufresne

Recent discussions about phonics have underscored its critical role in literacy education. While the significance of teaching phonics is widely acknowledged, it is imperative to recognize that phonics is a means to an end, not an end in itself. We teach students phonics—or how words work—so they will learn how to decode unknown words while reading and how to encode unknown words while writing. When phonics instruction is taught in isolation, it fails to give students the robust reading experiences needed to build a strong foundation. Marie Clay tells us, “Most written language occurs as continuous text, so the focal task for the learner is to problem-solve the messages of continuous text” (Clay 2016, p. 6 ).

Think about learning how to drive a car. Just as studying braking and steering alone won’t make you a proficient driver, teaching phonics in isolation won’t make students proficient readers. Reading and writing proficiency requires the application of learned skills to real reading and writing situations.

Reading connected text not only enhances word recognition automaticity but also plays a vital role in word solving. Contrary to some beliefs, using context as a word-solving tool is supported by research (Scanlon and Anderson, 2020) and is an essential skill, especially in the diverse landscape of the English language.

In this video of my grandson Jaxson, observe how he adeptly uses both contextual information and decoding skills to tackle unfamiliar words, showcasing the interactive nature of effective reading.

Jaxson

Readers must be flexible in decoding, as some words may only be partially deciphered using phonics rules. Sometimes there is a mismatch between what the child decodes and the actual word. Say, for example, the reader decodes been with the rhyme of seen. If the pronunciation is not checked against what makes sense, students will not correct errors. Regular engagement with meaningful text is crucial, as decoding in isolation, especially with nonsense words, lacks the depth of learning gained from rich printed language.

I am concerned about the trend to discourage the use of patterned text with beginning readers. Well-constructed patterned text not only aids in learning critical print concepts but also teaches children to use context effectively and supports the formation of orthographic mapping.

Recently, I began working with Gabriel, who entered first grade with minimal letter and sound knowledge. Starting with patterned text and incorporating useful sight words both in reading and writing, we built early foundational skills and what Marie Clay refers to as an “island of certainty” for him. Gradually, I transitioned him to less patterned text and began rotating back and forth between simple decodable text and natural language–based books to build flexibility. In the video, observe his growing confidence and proficiency in reading and writing. Recently, Gabriel told his mother, “I think I am getting this.”

Gabriel

Let’s prioritize daily access to engaging and meaningful stories in our classrooms, ensuring that every student experiences the joy and satisfaction of “getting it,” just like Gabriel.

Clay, M. (2016). Literacy lessons designed for individuals (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Scanlon, D. M. & Anderson, K. L. (2020). Using context as an assist in word solving: The contributions of 25 years of research on the interactive strategies approach. Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1) S19-S34. https://doi:10.1002/rrq.335