In this "Struggling Readers" department, the author describes a collaborative lesson--a professional development strategy adapted from Reading Recovery. Collaborative lessons involve a small group of educators who collaborate to help a student who is struggling with reading. While collaborative lessons were initially designed by Reading Recovery…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that an Individualized Education Program (IEP) be developed for each child that receives special education services. To develop the most effective IEP, information is gathered from everyone who has worked with the child. In many schools the child receives early intervention services prior to…

Describes how specially trained teachers working with small groups of children helped to reduce the risk of failure that was threatening many low-achieving first grade students. Provides details of the Early Intervention in Reading Program of a small school district in the midwest. (PRA)

Describes student outcomes following the first year of implementation of an early reading intervention project designed to improve the first language literacy in first grade English language learners (ELLs). Results indicate steady improvement in reading levels and support providing ELLs with interventions that use an intensive, systematic,…

Reading Recovery is a short-term intervention program for first-graders who are at risk of failure in reading and writing. More than 1.5 million children have been served in the United States since 1984, and pre- and post-test Observation Survey scores have been collected across the nation for the past 20 years. Yet there is a need to determine…

This study investigated the effectiveness of combining enhanced classroom instruction and intense supplemental intervention for struggling readers in first grade. Further, it compared two supplemental interventions derived from distinct theoretical orientations, examining them in terms of effects on academic outcomes and whether children's…

Describes a reworking of a Title 1 program in Lake Forest, Delaware schools, to eliminate first grade retention due to substandard level of reading ability. The process included: (1) making reading fun; (2) new reading material; (3) parental participation; (4) scheduled reading time; (5) reading requirements; and (6) teachers' aides in classrooms.…

Describes the four aspects of the Reading Recovery program: (1) the teaching of children; (2) the training of teachers; (3) the training of teacher leaders; and (4) implementing the program in an education system and coordinating the long-term prevention strategy. Notes that a critical factor in the program is the training of teachers. (RS)

This study examines the effectiveness of a one-on-one reading intervention using trained tutors. Participants were 49 first-grade students at risk for reading failure. The three-step tutoring model included repeated reading of familiar text, explicit coaching in decoding and word-solving strategies, and reading new books during each 15-minute…