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Recommendations for Assisting Struggling Readers
train with tickets overlayed Implement a universal screening program. Monitor students' progress. Provide intensive, systematic instruction on foundational reading skills in small groups.

Move your cursor over the tickets on the image for information about assisting struggling readers.

Implement a universal screening program.
  • Create a school-wide team to implement universal screening and progress monitoring.
  • Select efficient screening measures that identify children at risk for poor reading.
Monitor students' progress.
  • Screen all students for potential reading problems at the beginning and the middle of the year.
  • Regularly monitor students at risk of developing reading disabilities.
Provide intensive, systematic instruction on foundational reading skills in small groups.
  • Use a curriculum that addresses the components of reading instruction (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency) and relates to students' needs and developmental level.
  • Implement the program three to five times a week, for approximately 20 to 40 minutes.
  • Build skills gradually and provide a high level of teacher-student interaction with opportunities for practice and feedback.
Teach students to identify and use the text’s organizational structure to comprehend, learn, and remember content.
  • Explain how to identify and connect the parts of narrative texts.
  • Provide instruction on common structures of informational texts.
Establish an engaging and motivating context in which to teach reading comprehension.
  • Help students discover the purpose and benefits of reading.
  • Create opportunities for students to see themselves as successful readers.
  • Give students reading choices.
  • Give students the opportunity to learn by collaboration with their peers.

Getting Up to SpeedGetting Up to Speed
 The WWC developed a practice guide that identifies the supporting evidence and provides research-based strategies for helping struggling readers. The guide recommends utilizing RtI and multi-tier intervention methods at the classroom or school level to identify struggling students, design an intervention program, and monitor student progress.

Additional Resources
Check out WWC practice guides to learn more.

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