Literacy
Intervention Programs
According to Burns, Griffin, and Snow (1999), a literacy intervention program is "a supplementary program to address an identified or anticipated reading problem" (p. 149). Such intervention programs can be remedial or preventive: "Remedial interventions are aimed at school children who have been identified as achieving below expected levels. Preventive interventions are aimed at younger children who are thought to be at risk for developing reading problems" (Burns, Griffin, & Snow, 1999, p. 149).
The wide range of intervention programs includes tutoring sessions, special education classes, free book programs, family literacy projects, classroom reading programs (such as Little Books for Early Readers and Reading Recovery), preschool programs such as Head Start, and schoolwide restructuring programs (such as Roots and Wings, Success for All, and the School Development Program) that emphasize literacy.
To ensure children's literacy development, schools must provide effective and immediate intervention strategies as soon as reading problems are detected. Burns, Griffin, and Snow (1999) state that children need "effective intervention and remediation programs, well integrated with their everyday classroom activities, as soon as they begin to have difficulty" (p. 13).
