More than one

More than one-million school children in the United States have gone through a program called Reading Recovery. The program is for six-year-olds who are struggling to learn to read.

Reading Recovery came to the United States in 1984. Education expert Marie Clay of New Zealand developed the program. A number of other countries also use this method. Programs can differ from school. The Reading Recovery Council of North America says more than 25% of the United States public schools with first grades use the program.

The Reading Recovery method calls for a specially trained reading teacher to work with children one at a time. The lessons take a half hour each school day. They employ reading, writing and the study of the letters of the alphabet.

Reading Recovery lessons take place for twelve to twenty weeks. During the lessons, the teacher looks for ways that the child seems to learn best. Then the teacher works to help the students develop these strategies to solve problems in reading. The idea is for the students to continue to use and extend these strategies each time they read.

Reading Recovery students read many short books. Some of the books are written in a way similar to spoken language. Children alse read and write stories or messages in their own words. The material gets harder with time.

The lessons end when the students’ reading ability is within the average level of the class. The Reading Recovery Council of North America says eighty percent of the students who finish the lessons can read and write within their class average.

The council is a group with eleven thousand members. The group named a new president this month. Mary Jackson is director of special programs for the Fort Bend public school system in Sugar Land, Texas. Mizz Jackson says more than ninety-nine percent of the Reading Recovery students in the schools passed the state reading examination.

Some administrators may not like the higher cost of the Reading Recovery method compared to other ways. Teachers, after all, work with only small numbers of first graders. But supporters say it saves money in the end. They say it helps prevent the sad results and the expense of letting children fail in school.

Title: Reading Recovery

The 76 of the program

Helping children with 77 in learning to read.

Facts about the program

Time when it came to America

1984

The number of schools that use the program in the US

More than a 78 of the Unite States public schools with first grades use the program.

Requirements for the teachers

●They must receive 79 and use reading, writing and the study of the letters of the alphabet.

●They must figure out what is the best way for children.

●They help the students develop strategies to slove problems in reading.

Requirements for the students

●The students should make use of these 80 in reading.

●They read some books 81 in spoken-language style.

●They use their own language to read and write stories or messages.

82 of the program

●Most students 83 the average level of the class in reading.

●Almost all the students who had 84 training passed the state reading examination.

Different opinions

Some say the program is too 85 .

Others say it saves money in the long run.

76. purpose/ aims/ goal 77. difficulty/ problems/ trouble 78. quarter/ fourth

79. training 80. strategies 81. Written82. Effects/Benefits 83. reach 84. received 85. expensive/ costly