Leveled Literacy Intervention
Irene Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell
Pat Erickson
EDDC 864
Programs in Literacy 1
Program Authors
 Irene Fountas (Lesley University)
 Gay Su Pinnell (Ohio State)
 Both have written extensively - Articles, Books, Interviews
on Reading beginning in 1975 with “Language in Primary
Classrooms” and continuing up to present date with
approximately 20 published articles between them.
 Best known as authors of Guided Reading (1996).
 “Good first teaching is the foundation of education and
the right of every child. “
Program Authors Continued
 Pinnell - Professor at Ohio State: National Data
Collection Site for Reading Recovery
 Reading Recovery Certified Teacher (member of one of
the first cohorts in US to go through training) Pinnell
began writing about RR in 1985 with “Helping Teachers
Help Children at Risk: Insights from the Reading
Recovery Program”
 written extensively about RR (*More about RR Later)
LLI Philosophy & Research Base
 Based on Guided Reading.
 allows children to develop as individual readers within the
context of a small group
 texts are matched to children’s reading ability instructional
level reading every day, independent level reading every day
(Fountas & Pinnell, 1999). systematic instruction in
phonemic awareness (National Institute of Child Health &
Human Development, 2001a, Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn,
2001)
 systematic instruction in phonics(Clay, 2001)
 daily opportunities to increase fluency through oral rereading
of texts
 daily opportunity to read new texts with teacher
support(Armbruster, Lehr & Osborn, 2001)
LLI Philosophy Continued
 explicit instruction on comprehension (discussion, graphic
organizers, strategy instruction)
 opportunities for writing(National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development, 2001a)
 opportunities to learn a core of high frequency words
 expand vocabulary and develop oral language(Vygotsky,
1998, Beck, McKeown, & Kulcan, 2002, Lindfors, 1999,
Moats, 2001)
 highly motivating for children and teachers(NRP, Au, 1997,
Lyons, 2003)
 Direct, practical link to classroom instruction(Armbruster,
Lehr, & Osborn, 2001)
 Facilitates a home-school connection
LLI Philosophy Continued
 Leveled books are a key component in helping children
become competent readers. Each LLI system includes a
collection of leveled books to provide support and a small
amount of challenge so the reader can learn on the text
and make small steps toward grade-level goals.
 All systems have organized lessons around the following
quantities of leveled books:
 Orange System: Levels A through C – 70 Titles ($1250.00)
 Green System: Levels A through J – 110 Titles ($2500.00)
 Blue System: Levels C through N – 120 Titles ($2500.00)
 Red System: Levels L through Q – 144 Titles ($4500.00)
Back To Reading Recovery
 Began in 1976 as a research project in New Zealand
(Marie Clay)
 National Education Program in NZ in 1983
 Came to US in 1984
 Reading Recovery – differentiated individual
instruction for struggling readers.
 Daily instruction is based on student reading (what
students know and what they need to know)
 Marie Clay – began teaching in 1949
 1st published reading research in 1967
Comparison of Leveled Literacy
Intervention to Reading Recovery
LLI
RR
 3 to 5 day intervention program:
30 minutes/day
 Intensive support
 Short Term – 12 to 20 weeks
 1 to 6 students (recommended
for 3 students)
 1st 10 Lessons in LLI – Getting to
Know Students
 LLI Leveled Books - F&P
 LLI - 4 part Lesson Structure
 Assessments – Benchmark
Assessment - Running Records,
Fluency & Retelling
 K-8
 5 day intervention program: 30
minutes/day
 Intensive support
 Short term – 12 to 20 weeks
 1 student
 1st 10 Lessons In RR -Roaming
around the known
 RR Leveled Books
 RR – 5 part Lesson Structure
 Assessments – Observation
Survey and Running Records
 1st grade
Leveled Literacy Intervention
Nature of the Program
 Leveled Literacy Intervention System (LLI)
 Short term intervention– twelve to twenty weeks
 small-group (recommended for 3 students but can go
up to six students)
 supplementary intervention - not substitute
 Intensive support for lowest achieving children who
struggle with reading and writing
 Goal – to bring children quickly up to grade-level
 Also supports ELL students
LLI Kits
 Leveled Literacy Intervention is a K–8+ intervention
system
LLI Orange System, Kindergarten (Levels A – C) 2008
 LLI Green System, Grade 1 (Levels A – J) 2008
 LLI Blue System, Grade 2 (Levels C – N) 2008
 LLI Red System, Grade 3 (Levels L – Q) 2013
 Three new systems are in development:
LLI Gold System, Grade 4 (Levels O–T)
LLI Purple System, Grade 5 (Levels R–W)
LLI Teal System, Grades 6-8 (Levels U–Z)
Program Components
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70 to 140 Leveled Books (6 copies of each)
10 Getting Started Lap Books
Take Home Books(6 copies each)
Program Guide
Lesson Guide, Volume 1 & 2
Prompting Guide 1
When Readers Struggle: Teaching That Works
Program Components Continued
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My Writing Book(108 books)
Take Home Bags(18 bags, 6 of each color)
Lesson Folders(110 folders)
Student Folders(18 folders)
Technology Package (includes Lesson Resource CDROM, Data Management System CD-ROM,
Professional Development DVD, Tutorial DVD)
 F&P Calculator/Stopwatch
Technology
 Lesson Resources CD - printable lesson forms, charts,
books, games, letter and picture cards, recording forms,
parent letters
 Data Management CD – import data, track and print
reports, progress monitoring
 Professional Development DVD – Program Components,
Assessment, Teaching, Sample LLI Lessons
 Tutorial DVD – Coding Oral Reading, Scoring and Analyzing
Oral Reading Behaviors
Lesson Framework
 Alternating Day Lesson Structure(Odd and Even Day)
 30 minute lessons – fast pace with focus on
comprehension
 Rereading Books that are familiar to students - Odd
and Even Day
 Assessment – Running Record - Even Day
 Phonics/Word Work – systematic phonics– Odd and
Even Day
 New Book – guided reading - Odd and Even Day
 Letter/Word Work - Early Writing skills – Odd Day
Assessments
 Benchmark Assessment™ , purchased separately, is
used to identify students for intervention and forming
appropriate groups. Initial assessment at K and 1 are
similar to Clay’s Observation survey.
 Initial assessment at grades 1, 2, &3 contain running
records, fluency, retelling and comprehension.
 Based on the F&P Text Level Gradient™. A–Z, which is
correlated to grade level.
 Program Assessments (even Day) include running
records for accuracy and analysis, fluency rubric,
retelling and comprehension.
LLI and Our Philosophical Framework
Strengths
 Based on Reading Recovery
 Skill sets - Systematic Phonics,
fluency, word rec., text structure
 Less expensive than Reading
Recovery as it is small
group/individual
 Recognizes reciprocity of
reading/writing
 Nice collection of Leveled books
 Technology Package
 Graphic organizers
Weaknesses
 Difficult to meet individual
needs in group setting for 30
minutes
 Comprehension instruction is
mostly low level
 View of reading is in mechanics
 Not a lot of choice
 scripted program
References
Armbruster, B. B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J. (2001). Put Reading First: The Research
Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read: Kindergarten through Grade
1. Jessup, MD: National Institute for Literacy.
Au, K. H. (1997). Ownership, literacy achievement, and students of diverse cultural
backgrounds. In J.T. Guthrie & A.Wigfield (Eds.), Reading engagement:
Motivating readers through integrated instruction (pp. 18–182). Newark, DE:
International Reading Association.
Beck, I.L. & McKeown, M.G. (1991). Conditions of vocabulary acquisition. In R. Barr,
M. Kamil, & P.D. Pearson (Eds.).Handbook of reading research (Vol. 2, pp.
789–814). New York: Longman.
References Continued
Clay, M.M. (2001). Change Over Time in Children’s Literacy Development.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Goldenberg, C. N. (1994). Promoting early literacy development among Spanishspeaking children:Lessons from two studies. In E.H. Hiebert & B.M. Taylor
(Eds.), Getting Ready Right from the Start: Effective Early Literacy
Interventions.Needham, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Harrison, L., Grehan, A., Ross, S., Dexter, E., & Inan, F. (2008). Leveled Literacy
Intervention: Year 1 Evaluation. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of
the American Educational Research Association, New York.
Hiebert, E. H. & B. M. Taylor (1994). Early literacy interventions: Answers and issues.
In E.H. Hiebert & B.M. Taylor (Eds.),Getting Ready Right from the Start:
Effective Early Literacy Interventions. Needham, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
References Continued
Juel, C. (1998). Learning to read and write: A longitudinal study of 54 children from first
through fourth grades. Journal ofEducational Psychology, 80, 437–447.
Lindfors, J. (1999). Children’s Inquiry: Using Language to Make Sense of the World. New
York: Teachers College Press.
Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2003). Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency: Thinking,
Talking, and Writing About Reading, K–8. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann,
Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2005). Leveled Books, K–8: Matching Texts to Readers for
Effective Teaching. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Pinnell, G.S. & Fountas, I. C. (1998). Word Matters: Teaching Phonics and Spelling in
the Reading/Writing Classroom.Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Lyons, C. (2003). Teaching struggling readers: How to use brain-based research to
maximize learning. Portsmouth, NH:Heinemann.
Moats, L.C. (2001). Overcoming the language gap. American Educator, 25, (5), 8–9.
References Continued
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2001a). Report of the
National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based
Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its
Implications. . . l 6 k. . .for Reading Instruction. Reports of the
Subgroups. Washington, D.C.: National Institutes of Health.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2001b). Report of the
National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based
Assessment of the Scientific Research Literacy on Reading and its
Implications for Reading Instruction. Summary. Washington, D.C.: National
Institutes of Health.
Schmidt, M.C., Askew, B.J., Fountas, I.C., Lyons, C.A. & Pinnell, G.S. (2005).
Changing Futures: The Influence of Reading Recovery in the United States.
Worthington, OH: Reading Recovery Council of North America.
References Continued
Snow, C.E., Burns, M.S., & Griffin, P. (1998). Preventing Reading Difficulties in Y
oung Children. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Stanovich, K.E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of
individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research
Quarterly, 21, 360–406.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological
Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Thank You!