Prompts to Support The Use of Strategies

Marie Clay's Reading Recovery prompts (1993) are the basis for the following heirarchy of prompts compiled by a group of Reading Recovery trained teachers. The higher the prompt, the less information the teacher provides to the student (minimal scaffolding); the lower the prompt, the more information the teacher provides to the student (maximum scaffolding).

Clay, Marie (1993). Reading Recovery A Handbook For Teachers in Training. Portsmouth: Heinemann Education.

TO SUPPORT THE USE OF SELF-MONITORING/CHECKING

HIGH
Were you right?
Where's the tricky word?
What did you notice?
Why did you stop?
Try that again
MEDIUM
What's wrong?
Check it. Does it look right and sound right to you?
You almost got that. See if you can find what is wrong.
LOW
Would _____ fit there?
Would ______ make sense?
Do you think it looks like _____?
Could it be ______?
It could be _____, but look at _____.

TO SUPPORT THE READER'S USE OF ALL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

HIGH
What could you try?
What do you know that might help?
What can you do to help yourself?
MEDIUM
Does that make sense?
Does that look right?
Does that sound right?
What's wrong with this? (repeat what the child said)
Try that again and think what would make sense.
Try that again and think what would sound right.
Do you know a word like that?
Do you know a word that starts with those letters?
Do you know a word that ends with those letters?
LOW
Check the picture.
You said _____, can we say it that way?
You said ______, does that make sense?

TO SUPPORT THE READER'S SELF-CORRECTION BEHAVIOR

HIGH
Try that again.
I liked the way you worked that out.
MEDIUM
Something wasn't quite right.
You made a mistake. Can you find it?
You're nearly right. Try that again.

For more information, please contact:

SERC Consultant: Janet Zarchen, (860) 632-1485, ext. 376