In a society where education is so vital, and has such a focus, it is important to have students catch up and get ahead in reading. This can be accomplished through the purposeful teaching of specific reading strategies.
Help Students Catch Up in Reading
Students who struggle in reading need to be taught specific reading strategies in order to catch up. All children can learn to read, it may simply take a little extra patience and purposeful teaching in order to help open the world of print.
Instead of lowering your standards for these students, you should raise your standards. Expect more from these students just as you expect more from yourself, as you rise to the challenge of teaching these students in a more purposeful and directed manner. Think carefully about how you group your students to enable the stronger readers to not compensate for the weaker readers, but to help them become stronger.
Help Students Get Ahead in Reading
Even students who are reading on grade level will benefit, and even get ahead, if they are taught specific reading strategies. Allowing students to simply read on grade level when they are capable of reading much better is holding those students back -- just as students who are behind and not helped to catch up are being held back.
Much focus is placed on helping struggling readers, often at the detriment to the improvement of on grade level readers. Instead of giving yourself a pat of the back for that handful of students who are reading on grade level, push yourself harder, and find ways to push those average students to become above average.
Specific Reading Strategies to Teach
Some programs that work wonderfully towards teaching students how to read include the Orton-Gillingham Phonemic Awareness method, and the Reading Recovery method. These help provide strategies for students to learn how to sound words out and comprehend what they are reading, while adding writing skills.
If you cannot use a specific program to teach reading strategies, then break the act of reading down and teach each piece as purposefully as possible. Teach students to sound out words, encourage them to build their sight vocabulary, and use drills to increase reading fluency.
Helping students catch up and keep up in reading requires the use of purposeful teaching of specific strategies. Make the effort to teach these students how to read better, and make an impact on the next generation.
Learn more tips for teaching reading.
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