Strange Behavior

Let me introduce my new guidebook Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals. The teaching advice previously found in the book Reading Recovery: a Guidebook for Teachers in Training (1993) has been updated. The new book comes in two volumes.

Volume 1 describes why a short period of individual help is essential for a small proportion of six-year olds, and recommends how this can be provided in a school or school district. The volume is written for administrators and serves as an executive summary. It explains the principles and infrastructure that support successful implementation. It clearly summarizes the changes in children's literacy behaviors that can be observed and reported. These changes allow for scientifically-based research to demonstrate that accelerated progress has been made and that the intervention is a sound investment. Early intervention produces significant outcomes.

Volume 2 contains teaching recommendations and procedures which take into account new theory and research findings. We are confident that a wider range of children's problems can now be addressed.

Reading Recovery's professional organizations, RRCNA, NATG and IRRTO, have recommended ways in which the transition to new teaching procedures described in the Literacy Lessons volumes will best be made. They recommend:

• that no changes be made in Reading Recovery lessons during the 2005-2006 school year, to ensure that data collection and program evaluation projects are not affected;
• that during the remainder of the 2005-2006 school year, Reading Recovery training and professional development (continuing contact) classes will continue to work with Reading Recovery: A Guidebook for Teachers in Training (1993), so that evaluation data can capture the change effectively;
• that Trainers and Teacher Leaders prepare themselves for working with the new guidebook with teachers during the 2006-2007 school year;
• and that sites change from using Reading Recovery: A Guidebook for Teachers in Training (1993) to using Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals at the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year.

Sites requiring new books for training classes or professional development (continuing contact) classes beginning in August/September 2006 should place their orders before 1 June.

I ask teachers who purchase the books when they become available to respect the request not to change their Reading Recovery lessons during the 2005-2006 school year. Teacher leaders will not be available to discuss changes in lesson delivery until after June 2006.

People who read the new materials and wish to initiate new programs should discuss such developments with Trainers at Reading Recovery training sites across USA. They may be thinking of expanding existing programs or they may be considering the use of Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals with special groups of young children who need a limited number of hours of individual instruction in order to be able to participate in their classroom activities. Suggestions for such expansions are dealt with under the heading Particular Children, in Volume 2 of the new teaching procedures.

I fully support these plans to update Reading Recovery teaching.

Marie M Clay