Closing the Literacy Gap (CLG) (transition) has been developed using principles from Reading Recovery, a literacy intervention developed in New Zealand by Marie Clay.
East Ayrshire developed this intervention to use with pupils in upper primary/early secondary who find reading difficult.
A CLG (transition) intervention involves pupils receiving a block of tuition from a member of East Ayrshire Support Team (EAST) in groups of no more than two. Sessions usually last around 45 minutes and are delivered on two occasions per week, usually for a block of around 25-30 sessions.
Most pupils receive this intervention in their Primary 6 year, although some may access this support in Primary 7 or at secondary school. Routine assessments are carried out at the end of Primary 5 to identify those pupils who are struggling with literacy and have gaps in her/his literacy learning.
Why your child been selected for CLG support
EAST’s CLG (transition) intervention is targeted to pupils who require a block of focused support to become more secure with literacy skills, with a particular focus on reading accuracy.
What it involves
Your child will usually be extracted to a quiet area to work with the EAST member of staff.
Lessons are personalised to suit individual needs but follow an agreed format. A typical lesson is likely to include:
- listening to/discussing a story, selected by the pupil
- reading aloud an extract from the text/story that was worked on during previous session
- learning the 200 most common words (Active Literacy Programme)
- applying reading strategies to work out unknown words
- a variety of activities to support grammar/spelling rules
- comprehension activities which might include ‘finding information and using own knowledge to prove answers’
- discussing their responses to questions
How you can help
- Above all, make reading relaxed and fun!
- Praise effort, even if word is not quite right
- Talk about the books he/she has read
- Give ‘thinking time’. If your child still cannot work out the word tell him/her (this means he/she will not forget what the story is about)
- Encourage your child to use reading strategies
The main aim of the intervention is to equip your child with strategies to become more independent when reading.
Benefits for your child
Because they are working on a one to one or small group basis, the member of EAST is able to direct instruction to areas that are specific to your child.
Some examples of these areas are knowing how to split up words into chunks and looking for clues in a word, such as ‘magic e’.
The CLG support is in addition to reading support within the class and will give your child regular opportunities to implement strategies to become a more confident and more competent reader.
Reading strategies
Encourage your child to use different strategies when reading as most people tend to focus on sounding out to help decode. However, there are many other effective strategies including:
- Word clues
- breaking up words into chunks
- thinking of a similar word
- looking for words inside words
- thinking: “What is the writer trying to tell me?”
- read on to the end of the sentence, reread the sentence, look at the first word and think about what would make sense
- For comprehension
- think about what you already know about the subject by discussing pictures/title
Using reading strategies to attempt to decode unfamiliar words gives your child greater ownership over the reading process. Remember to always acknowledge your child’s efforts at having a go, even if their attempt isn’t totally right.
Reading is important, because if you can read, you can learn anything about everything and everything about anything"
Tomie dePaola
Further information
If you would like further information, please contact your child’s school in the first instance.