Strategies to Help the Struggling Reader

We all have had the student (or students!) who refuse to read, are frustrated by even the simplest task, and labor over every assignment. It's impossible to know all of the put-downs from other students this child has endured, or get into their head to know what they are thinking, but we can get a clue from their behavior. Poor reading skills impacts all areas of a child's life. When you think about struggling readers, usually the first thing that comes to mind is trouble with reading...right?  But other behaviors are just as likely to signify a reader who is struggling. Have you ever had a student who showed these behaviors?

What Does It Look Like?

Misbehavior...often students who struggle with reading revert to misbehavior as a cover. If they misbehave they won't have to read, if they misbehave no one will know.

Thinks he/she is stupid...This student thinks the assignment is stupid, the reading is stupid, and you're stupid.  What he/she is really afraid of is that they are stupid.

Says it is boring...If it's boring and he/she struggles reading, maybe you'll think they just don't care, not that they just can't?

Confused, says he/she cannot understand...This student is showing exactly what is going on, he or she really doesn't understand at all.

What to Do:

First, evaluate the student for his/her listening comprehension level to asses the actual comprehension skill level. If there is a big gap between the listening comprehension score and the silent reading comprehension score, then strategies need to kick in quickly to help with reading skills.

NEVER force the student to read aloud in front of the class...as he/she feels more confident this will happen.

Use oral or video learning activities to supplement at least some of the written work.

Provide books for the reader that are easy for him/her to read regardless of grade level. My experience has been that reading easy material helps not only to decrease the stress of reading, but improves fluency. I tell my students that reading easy books will help them read harder books more quickly. The key is to read a lot, a whole lot!

Which brings me to...Reinforce that the only way to become a better reader is to read more. Then make sure books the student can read and enjoy are available.

Arrange for the student to read easy books to younger students. It makes him/her the "expert".

There are lots of web sites that students can use to help increase reading skills. Once you diagnose a skill need, google the skill to find a game/site that helps the student work on it. Games work a whole lot better than drill, drill, drill!

Ask students to draw simple stick figures to show information/ flow of the story rather than words all of the time.

Make use of reader's theater. Practicing a reader's theater part that is on the student's reading level gives him/her the opportunity to be excited about learning new words/strategies for a preformance. Doing this in guided reading is especially helpful, then present to the whole class.

How to do it In the Guided Reading Group:

1. Word work, word work, word work! With a struggling reader it is imperative to make sure they know how the letters work together. I have had third graders who have missed this entirely. Check to make sure they know when vowels are long and short, know letter blend sounds, prefixes and suffixes and how they impact words and also understand homophones. If you teach third grade or higher you may be thinking this is silly, but believe me it is not. Some students have missed the basic phonics skills and need to have direct instruction to learn them. Direct lessons on these skills can easily be included in guided reading using the selected text.

2. Work on new content words for any new selection. Don't skimp on this step, for the struggling reader it is vital. Ask students to write new words down, and discuss the meaning. Get with a partner and read the words to each other. Ask students to make up sentences using the word and/or draw a picture to show what the word means. This step will take more time with struggling readers than with competent readers. Rather than using multiple choice tests with these students, use short writing, drawings and verbal discussion which are much more effective.  When finished reading ask students to write a very short summary of the text using at least one of the new words.

3. When you teach skills and strategies. Don't just "cover" them with this group. Make sure they really know each one through lots of practice and teacher assessment. Keep in mind that struggling readers needs lots of structure and support at this point. Practice is imperitive as each skill/strategy is taught.

4. Prediction is very important with struggling readers. It helps students use their own schema and share ideas with the whole group, rather than alone. This gives needed support to struggling readers. Ask students what words they would expect to find in the selection. Ask students to skim the selection to find any bold faced words, or titles that may include ideas/words that will be covered in the selection. Predict throughout the reading.

5. Read the selection silently. I use the sticky note flags (small, thin, comes in many colors, sticky on one end) and allow students to put them by any word that causes difficulty in the text. These sticky note flags are reusable. Mine are good for at least a month of use. After silent reading go back and discuss any of these words with the group. Click here to see what I'm talking about.

6. Read the selection orally as a group (you might choose to read it to students on occasion as they follow along). Choral reading is a good way to support the struggling reader as they know if they "flub up" no one will notice.  Then allow students to get a buddy and read a chosen paragraph to each other.  When guided reading is finished I usually tell students to go back to their seats and choose one page to really practice and get perfect, then find a buddy and read that page to them orally.

7. The selection will then go into the review reading basket of past guided reading materials that are kept for rereading before each guided reading session begins. All guided reading groups should start with at least 5 minutes of rereading of past guided reading materials.

Finally

Get in touch with parents and impress upon them the importance of ready easy-to-read books at home daily. The best readers, are readers who have read more. It's not magic, it's persistance.

If guided reading has got you down, be sure and check out:

It's Time for Guided Reading, Now What Do I Do?

Why is Prediction Important When Students Read?

It's SUCH an easy part of reading to skip over, but if we skip prediction when teaching our students to read, we are missing a key part of the reading process! Prediction is more than figuring out what happens next. It involves asking questions, finding evidence, and inferring.

Why is prediction important?

1. Prediction activates prior knowledge about the text. Students take what they already know, and apply it to new information.

2. Prediction before, during and after reading connects students to the text. They have a reason to read, and want to know if they predicted correctly.

3. A reader who makes predictions is focused on the text and what is about to be read. In short...they care!

4. Prediction helps kids get excited about what they are about to read. Reading isn't just word calling, it's making a connection to the text...prediction helps this to happen.

Simple Ways to Teach Prediction

1. Prediction needs explicit instruction on how it is done and modeling from teachers. This is particularly easy to do during oral reading to the class with a favorite book. For example, as you read give your own predictions of what might happen next. Tell what evidence in the book makes you think this will happen, ask for student predictions.

2. Using titles, headings, pictures and diagrams in non-fictional text helps students think about what they are about to read. Since students are more comfortable with narrative texts than with non-fiction, helping them become familiar with the text features and use them to make predictions helps them feel more comfortable with more difficult reading.

3.  Ask students to turn to a partner. Ask them to share with each other at least one prediction based on evidence found in the text. 

4. Make a simple anchor chart with "Prediction" on one side, and "Evidence" on the other. As a story is read, add predictions and evidence on the chart. Remind students that the evidence could be found on the book cover, pictures or within the text. If the prediction was correct, put a red check in the box, if it did not happen, and was a surprise, put a blue explaination mark. Discuss why it was a surprise. Did the author purposefully mislead the reader to surprise him? Was evidence missed?

5. Draw a picture! All grade levels really get into drawing pictures of what they think will happen next. Art is often a direct route into a student's thinking! After reading a chapter of a class book to the group, ask them to go to their desk and draw a picture of what will happen next. Allow students to share their pictures and tell what evidence they used to make their predictions. 

Seeing is worth a 1000 words. Great prediction lesson!

                          

Use these small task cards to not only encourage students to predict, but help students dig into both fiction and nonfiction text.