Reading Recovery

The aim of Reading Recovery is to support Grade 1 students who are struggling with learning to read, and achieving at the lowest 20 per cent of the Grade 1 cohort. Trained Reading Recovery teachers support students in reading familiar books, letter identification, word work, writing stories and reading a new challenging book during daily, thirty-minute lessons.

Since 2010, 1,412 of the lowest achieving students have learned to read and write in the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. The program is offered at 13 elementary schools, with different schools chosen each year.

Contact Information Penny Watt by email or phone 905-375-7653 

A trained Reading Recovery teacher makes careful observations of the strategic activity a child is already using and then builds on the strengths and interests of the child. The information she or he collects about the child is then shared with the classroom teacher so, in a sense, the child has two teachers while in Reading Recovery.

A child is assessed using the Observation Survey tasks.

Parents are invited to observe a lesson.

Teachers-in-training 2014-2015

A rich introduction assists the child with accessing new vocabulary.

Daily running records inform teaching decisions.

Teachers consider language structure when matching texts to readers.

Teachers build on a student's existing competencies.

Writing a story requires going from sound to letter as well as the skillful packaging of ideas.

Daily running records are taken to determine next steps.

A student has learned many ways to problem-solve, enabling him to gain in reading power every time he reads.

A teacher explains how a familiar word is being used in a new way.

Dr. Jennifer Leclerc, former Director of Education, congratulates a teacher as she receives her certificate. Teachers who are assigned to Reading Recovery engage in a full year in-service course and ongoing professional learning facilitated by a Reading Recovery Teacher Leader.

What happens in a typical 30-minute lesson?

Reading

The student reads three familiar books to build fluency. At the end of the lesson s/he reads a new book at the instructional level.

Oral Language

Through conversation, the Reading Recovery teacher helps the student comprehend the stories read and compose a story to write.

Writing

Using a "share the pen" strategy, each student writes a story with the Reading Recovery teacher.

If my child is selected, how can I help at home?

Your child will bring home a copy of the cut-up story in an envelope. See if your child can re-arrange the cut-up story. You may or may not need to read the story that the teacher has printed on the envelope.

Listen as your child reads a familiar story. Use the bookmark that has been sent home with your child to help when your child is stuck on a word. Don't provide the word until your child has had a chance to do some "reading work" on his or her own. Use the comments on the back of the bookmark to extend your child's understanding of what was read.