English Language Learners are Successful in Reading Recovery Lessons
Longitudinal research from a variety of countries shows that ELLs consistently perform well in Reading Recovery. Our data in YRDSB confirms these results with 86% of our ELLs achieve grade one standards in reading and writing and successfully discontinue from Reading Recovery. These positive results are consistent from year to year. In order support our ELLs, it is essential to:
- Increase the time that the student spends talking when in lessons (Literacy Lessons Part 1, p. 183)
- Be aware of the complexity of English language structures that you can expect of him in writing, at this moment in time (Literacy Lessons Part 2, p. 68)
- Choose books carefully to provide opportunities for extending language (Literacy Lessons Part 2, p. 51)
- Support the student with any particular features or structures (book language) that are likely to cause him difficulty (Literacy Lessons Part 2 p. 93)
- Share ideas and experiences using sentences only a little more complex than the ones the student is using (Record of Oral Language, p.31)
Caution: Sometimes it is necessary for a child to gain control over a particular language structure first ( saying it aloud) before he returns to using the visual information ( Literacy Lessons Part 2, p. 112).
Finally, when the decision is made to discontinue lessons for an ELL student, it is important for the school team to recognize that the student will continue to require appropriate scaffolding across the content areas:
At the conclusion of the lesson series the child is still in need of rich opportunities for further development in the language of instruction. …..After the a series of Reading Recovery lessons the child then has three complementary routes to further language learning, via oral language, writing and reading ( Literacy Lessons Part 2 p. 183).
The following resources are available to York Region teachers to support the planning of instruction for ELLs:
- ELL Accommodations for Running Records: https://bww.yrdsb.ca/services/cis/kinliteracy/prolearning/Pages/Observation-Survey-Tasks.aspx&AuthResend1908BC2350124b5095AB75012FA405BA#running
- Ministry Resources: https://bww.yrdsb.ca/services/cis/englishlanguage/Pages/Ministry-Resources.aspx
The following resources are available to all teachers to support the planning of instruction for ELLs:
For additional information see the article 'Getting a Story for Writing by Using Familiar Text' by Robin Peirce,Teacher Leader in New Zealand published in the Spring 2006 Journal of Reading Recovery on the Reading Recovery website at https://bww.yrdsb.ca/services/cis/readingrecovery/Pages/Professional-Learning.aspx
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