Moving readers from struggling to proficient

Have access to books. Plenty of books.

Often see that books — and literacy — are owned by schools, libraries, and “rich people.”

Ensures that books and other reading materials are for all of us. Educators set up Little Free Libraries at schools, maintain a book swap table in the school lobby, or seek donations for quality multicultural books to share. They place a sticker inside books noting they are for all children in the community to keep, swap, or share so they don’t get in trouble with their parents or guardians. They offer blank notebooks for scribbling, drawing, and writing. They invite the local librarian to the school and help families obtain library cards. They host regular storytelling events, book clubs, and free book fairs in their neighborhoods or apartment complexes.

Have hours of access to adults — from parents and grandparents to the next-door neighbor — reading aloud to them. They also have access to kind and patient listeners to practice reading to, such as a favorite uncle or the beloved family dog.

Are often deemed as having “reading deficiencies” and needing “intervention.”

Enlists an army of adults, either community volunteers or an all-hands-on-deck staff, to read books aloud to individuals or small groups of young children. Includes children who already know how to read in these groups. Reading aloud increases vocabulary, imagination, understanding of third-party narration, critical thinking skills, and comprehension. Abundant opportunities for reading aloud set all children on a path toward a lifetime of reading.

Choose books to expand their worldview or to read for pleasure, starting from where they are. They browse bookstores and libraries until something grabs their interest.

Are often given books to read by teachers who assume they know their reading level and what will interest them.

Provides several choices of books and material for children to read, not just by their readability levels. Teaches children how to choose books that closely match and expand their background knowledge, abilities, interests, and motivation.

Begin to engage with books by browsing the front covers, reading the back covers, scanning a few pages throughout the book, and reading a few paragraphs in the introduction.

Are often asked to start reading aloud right from the beginning.

Lets children see the covers, read the back material, and scan through the pages. Helps children think about the purpose of reading the chosen book. What do they already know about the topic? What are their predictions? What do they hope to learn? Do they even want to read this?

Decide when and where to read. They know some books are to be read at a table, some can be enjoyed on a couch, and others can be tucked into a bag for reading on the subway or a bus. They settle in, get comfortable, perhaps with some tea, ambient music, and soft lighting.

Are often asked to read aloud at a horseshoe table in front of the teacher with harsh lighting and noise and distraction from the bustle of the classroom.

Offers children cozy corners for reading, equipped with bean bag chairs, soft moveable furniture, an area rug, and soft lighting. Some lucky classrooms have an old claw-foot bathtub lined with blankets; others have large refrigerator boxes with pillows to crawl into. Some schools offer quiet, living room-like spaces in their buildings separate from busy classrooms. A few schools start their mornings by offering a quiet reading time as a consistent transition from stressful home environments to school.

Read silently and deeply in a nonlinear manner, thoughtfully returning to miscued words and misread phrases to think about their meaning. They read ahead and reread. They think about the text and carry an inner voice to help them negotiate the information being conveyed.

Are often asked to read aloud by sounding out letter-by-letter and word-by-word.

Encourages children to read for meaning. And for fun! Assures them that good readers are not exacting readers. Avoids correcting their mistakes that do not change the meaning. Lets children read ahead and go back to catch their own miscues. Encourages plenty of independent silent reading time, including the reading of books that seem easy or that students have already memorized.

Know what to do when they are stuck on words that don’t make sense.

Are often removed from classrooms for “special education” in phonics, using flash cards, learning vocabulary words, or reading bland low-leveled books in an isolated and fragmented manner.

Teaches children strategies for what to do when coming across unknown words or phrases. Teaches them to cover the tricky word with their finger, read ahead, and go back for context clues, think about another word that might make sense, ask a peer or an adult, or look it up in a dictionary or online. Teaches children phonetic strategies within the text, not in isolation on worksheets or computers. Decoding helps comprehension but also background knowledge and comprehension helps decoding at the same time.

Who are bilingual or speak a variation of English, such as African-American English, know that the phonemes and syntax of their spoken language do not always transfer to or match the language presented in text.

Have their spoken language ignored or corrected so they develop a narrative that they are not good readers.

Allows children and teachers to explore their knowledge about multiple languages in an objective manner. Treats no single language as “standard.” Recognizes that everyone has an “accent.” Teachers can let go of the phonemes or syntax that are different and, instead, foster and listen for meaning and understanding.

Can read deeply for tests, research, projects, or writing by annotating, taking notes, sorting and classifying information, and citing.

Are often stuck with taking simple multiple-choice tests in which they try to guess at the right answer.

Teaches children practical study skills using a variety of tools, such as highlighters, colored pencils, sticky notes, index cards, graphic organizers, or notebooks. Teaches them to circle key words and underline associated information. Teaches them, when reading fiction, to highlight characters in one color, their characteristics in another color, and the time and setting in yet another color. Helps them identify key problems and their resolution.

Discuss with peers or with their inner voices what they have learned from reading a text. They hone their critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical skills as they read increasingly complex information. They think about how information is relevant to their lives and how they want to use it.

Are often asked simple comprehension questions in which they come up with answers that they think the teacher wants to hear.

Allows children to express multiple views, even if those views feel controversial. At the same time, teachers can assure emotional safety by not allowing bullying, claims without evidence, or racist language.

Shouldn’t we seek to provide struggling readers with the very same kinds of resources, supports, and encouragement that the most fortunate children receive?