According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, 2016), approximately 20% of 15-year-olds from developed countries are not able to read at a level that allows them to participate effectively in life. Although most children learn to read satisfactorily through home support and/or high-quality classroom teaching, we must help those children who do not. Some myths exist that children are able to simply ‘pick up’ reading like they do with speech. However, spoken language is ‘hard-wired’ into the human brain whereas reading- the ability to construct meaning from printed text- requires explicit and prolonged teaching due to the recency of its invention. Reading is by no means a simple feat, it involves rapid coordination of visual, semantic, phonological, and linguistic processes. 

This blog post provides an overview of the intervention schemes which have been used in the UK to boost the overall reading attainment of lower-achieving pupils in KS1, and have been quantitatively evaluated. There is a long list, so this blog post will just focus on three intervention schemes: A.R.R.O.W, Boosting Reading, and Catch Up® Literacy.

This blog post uses information from the What Works for Literacy website which reviews intervention schemes for children and young people who struggle with reading, spelling, and/or writing. It aims to inform schools’ and other providers’ choices among such schemes and supports the need for clear information in order to make decisions about which approach to adopt for children who experience difficulties in literacy.

Choices should be guided not only by the evidence assembled and analysed here, but also by careful matching of the needs of an individual school, class or child to the specifics of particular schemes.

 

So, according to the data, what works for KS1 reading difficulties?

 

A.R.R.O.W

A.R.R.O.W (Aural-Read-Respond-Oral-Write) is an intervention which is based on the theory that hearing one’s own voice is a psychological key to much language comprehension and performance. The belief behind the intervention is that the cause of some children’s difficulty in learning to read (and spell) is having an indistinct or unattended self-voice. By hearing their own voice, children can make good progress.

The logistics:

  • Children work individually with a laptop.
  • The program displays a piece of text at an appropriate level, anywhere from a single letter to a short paragraph.
  • The child hears it spoken, then repeats it aloud and records it, then plays it back – repeating this process as often as wished.
  • Each mini-exercise ends with the requirement that the child writes down the piece of text.
  • Each child should ideally receive the program for one hour a day for ten consecutive school days.
  • One teacher or teaching assistant can supervise as many children as the school has laptops for.
  • The scheme is particularly appropriate for children with reading or spelling weaknesses, but has also been used as a whole-class programme.

In 2010, Colin Lane published copious data on the intervention’s use in various settings. Data was analysed from:

  • an independent study with a sample of 85 Year 6 children in one primary school.
  • 361 children across England and Wales who received the program in 2007-10.

The Primary-level studies show remarkable impact for reading accuracy and reading comprehension, and remarkable impact for spelling.

 

Boosting Reading

Boosting Reading is a reading intervention which focuses on the use and application of key skills whilst reading continuous text. It is designed to improve the use of reading strategies and develop understanding. The frequency and duration of the intervention enables pupils to become successful, independent readers who read with enjoyment.

The logistics:

  • Targeted, time-limited, one-to-one intervention for pupils in Y1–Y9 using a structured lesson format, but not scripted.
  • Programmes are delivered by trained Teaching Assistants.
  • Each pupil selected for the programme works with a trained adult for 15 minutes, 3 times a week, for 10 weeks.
  • Lessons include re-reading, assessment (through observation and running records), and introduction and first reading of a new text.
  • Partners are encouraged to select and use a wide range of text genres and reflect on and plan for pupil progress following each lesson.

Two datasets are presented for Primary-level. In the first dataset, all 6 year groups achieved ratio gains of over 4.0, demonstrating remarkable progress for overall reading age. Furthermore, the evidence from dataset 2 indicates that whilst the focus of the programme is improving continuous text reading, this reading and problem solving in context also has a significant impact on word reading skills. In this second dataset, 3 year groups achieved ratio gains of up to 3.6; indicating substantial impact for reading accuracy.

 

Catch Up® Literacy

Catch Up® Literacy is a one-to-one literacy intervention for struggling readers aged 6-14.

The logistics:

  • It is centred on a 15-minute structured teaching session delivered twice a week by a teacher or TA and tailored to the needs of individual children
  • It begins with a comprehensive assessment procedure which provides pre-intervention data and from which the adult tutor determines the child’s Catch Up® Literacy level and targets
  • The Catch Up® Literacy level is used to identify a book appropriate for the individual child which s/he will be able to read with 90% success (instructional level).
  • The individual sessions have three parts:
  1. During the prepared reading, the adult talks through the text and pictures of the selected book, providing key vocabulary and familiarising the child with the story.
  2. The child then reads the story whilst the adult records progress and identifies words to follow up.
  3. This is followed by a linked writing or spelling activity based on the child’s miscues earlier in the session. The adult helps the child with the reading and spelling of the words using a variety of methods, including phonics and the visual recognition of irregular words.

National data used to evaluate this intervention (which included 5,479 Primary-level children in 2002-10) show useful to remarkable progress. A 2008 evaluation with looked-after children demonstrated useful to remarkable impact on comprehension.

However, a second study by the Education Endowment Foundation found no evidence that Catch Up® Literacy had an impact on pupils’ reading comprehension outcomes when compared to ‘business as usual’ teaching assistant support. There is mixed evidence across the two EEF trials of Catch Up® Literacy and due to the lack of impact in their second trial, the EEF will be removing Catch Up® Literacy from the list of promising projects.

 

For more information on effect sizes and ratio gains, please see the What Works for Literacy guidance.

 

References

Castles, A., Rastle, K., & Nation, K. (2018). Ending the Reading Wars: Reading Acquisition From Novice to Expert. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19(1), 5–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618772271

Breadmore, H.L., Vardy, E.J., Cunningham, A.J., Kwok, R.K.W., & Carroll, J.M. (2019). Literacy Development: Evidence Review. London: Education Endowment Foundation. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Literacy_Development_Evidence_Review.pdf

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2016). Pisa 2015: Results in Focus. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015-results-in-focus.pdf

Plaut, D. (2007). Connectionist approaches to reading. In M. Snowling & H. C. (Eds.), The science of reading: A handbook (pp. 24-38). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing.

What Works for Literacy Difficulties