Struggling Readers
Tools for Helping Struggling Readers in the Classroom
Identity of a Struggling Reader
In every classroom, there are different types of readers. For some students, reading comes natural to them, while other students find it extremely difficult and often become discouraged. A student can struggle with reading for many different reasons such as; home/cultural environment, learning disabilities, or even just a lack of motivation to better their reading skills. It is our job as teachers to help each student in our classroom and to make them the best readers they can be.
TOOLS TO USE IN THE CLASSROOM
There are many different strategies that teachers can use in the classroom to assist students who are having a difficult time with reading. Some of these strategies are listed below:
- One-on-one reading time with the student
- Group reading: Students at different reading levels mixed within different groups
- Allow independent reading time where students can pick a book of their choice and read at their own comfortable pace
- Focus on specific areas in reading, such as: comprehension, phonics, decoding, fluency, etc.
Instructional Strategies to Help Struggling Readers by Dawn Montesano
MOTIVATION
While it is important to use these strategies listed above to help students who struggle with reading, motivation is also a key piece in working with struggling readers. Ultimately, it is the goal to have every student not only be successful in every aspect of reading, but to have each student enjoy reading as well. It is important to motivate and encourage students who may find reading challenging, so they do not continue to feel discouraged and give up all together. Examples of ways to motivate and excite students would be to use out of the box reading materials such as comic books, graphic novels, or even YouTube videos. By using different reading resources, it not only changes up the way in which students normally read, but it shows them there are many different forms of reading to enjoy.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Fun comic strips for teachers and students
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/10/01/the-best-comic-strips-for-students-teachers-in-2012-so-far/Reading with your child
http://www.topteacher.com.au/reading/home-reading-program/reading-your-child-parent-information
Great website with fun ideas and other important information about struggling readers
Chelsea Bartolomeo
Email: bartolomeoc11@students.ecu.edu
Location: Raleigh, NC, United States