Struggling
Readers
Reading
is the key for every door that leads to positive growth for students, but what
happens when a student is struggling? Comprehension and fluency are two of the
trickiest traits when it comes to literacy, and sometimes kids fall through the
cracks and miss out on important skills to bridge gaps. Here are a few tips to
help out your struggling readers in the classroom!
Guided reading
groups For
most teachers, guided reading groups are common practice. One of the most
important parts of guided reading is to ensure that you break down your class
into appropriate small groups so you can focus on the specific needs of each
child. If you have a few students struggling with their fluency, bring them
together in a guided reading group so that you can give each student the
individual attention he or she needs. With guided reading groups, you can model
effective and positive reading skills while simultaneously monitoring student
progress and developing reading proficiency!
Partner reading Kids love working
together, especially with a friend! If the student is struggling, he may not
feel as confident reading out loud in a “round robin” setting or in a large
group. Have the student pair with a friend, though, and magic can happen!
Students can work together to pick out words that are tricky and provide
definitions. They can help one another clarify the meaning o f a paragraph,
which encourages comprehension skills. With a partner, your struggling reader
will feel more comfortable reading aloud, which is a positive step towards
fluency and CONFIDENCE!
Connect to the
real world Students
love it when they can connect what they are reading to what’s going on outside
of school walls, or what’s going on in their lives. If the story is about
fishing and you have a student who loves to fish, don’t turn him away—involve
him! Ask him to share some of his knowledge with his classmates. Ask for
clarification on jargon. On the other hand, if the story relates to current
events, let the students do some independent or partner research and present to
the class. Keep your students “in the loop” to get them “in the zone” for
reading!
Level for success Quite often, we
think that a student’s reading level is the same as his grade level. Remember:
fluency and comprehension are NOT the same thing! Find a system that works for
you, whether it be the Independent Reading Level Assessment (IRLA), Accelerated
Reader (AR), or another assessment tool. Make sure that the student is leveled
properly, meaning that he is given books that are appropriate for his current
reading abilities. If the student is in fifth grade, he may not be ready for
fifth grade books and materials, but instead needs to show that he can complete
chapter books at a third grade level. It’s okay if your students are on
different levels!
Conference with
your students A
conference can take three to five minutes and be highly effective for your
students! Meet with the child once a week, and have the child bring along the
book he is reading at the moment. Ask the child to read maybe a paragraph or a
page from it, and then develop a short-term goal. For example, ask the child to
summarize the paragraph. If he struggles, set that as his goal for next week. If
he succeeds with that, ask him to make predictions about what could happen
next. Keep building on goals for success! Conferences also help you as a
teacher to see the progress a student is making.
I CAN! Statements These statements
are aligned to the Common Core and are just plain awesome. Each statement
pertains to a specific standard within the grade-appropriate curriculum, and
they are all positive! Have a student uses these statements during their
reading and language arts time to promote a “can-do” attitude that encourages a
growth mindset. It’s important to always build on the students’ strengths, and
these statements are a great place to start! Check out the link at the end of
this post for more!
Keep the students engaged! Most
importantly, always keep the students engaged during reading time. A student
who is not focused is a student who will not make gains in comprehension or
fluency. Provide hands-on activities that encourage students to ask questions
while they work. Let the students constantly interact with the materials
instead of just reading from a textbook or listening to the teacher lecture!
Get them involved and watch them grow!
To
get students really interacting with their ELA curriculum, one of the most
invaluable resources is an interactive reading notebook! These notebooks keep
the students consistently engaged with fun activities while promoting a
positive attitude towards learning (like using I CAN! Statements). It holds the
student accountable for his/her reading gains and growth in an enjoyable way,
and the notebooks are awesome to share with friends or family! Follow the link
below for interactive reading notebooks for grades 1st through 4th.
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