I graduated from college and prepared myself to storm the gates of the teaching world. Once the door to my classroom closed behind me, I faced a classroom filled with diverse learners, each with unique learning needs. I had a few struggling readers, and that number has grown exponentially over the years. I discovered the power of effective reading intervention that transformed struggling moments into success stories. Today, we will discuss three ways to utilize reading intervention with our students.

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What to Do When Students are Struggling?

Once we know that students are struggling, the first step involves understanding the depth of their struggle. Assessments become our GPS, guiding us to their deficit. Effective assessments help us to track our students, echoing where they are at any given time. And much like a GPS, it is ongoing and embedded while we are on the road to literacy.

I begin with the word recognition domain of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. The three strands of this domain, phonological awareness, decoding (phonics), and sight word recognition can be evaluated.

The first question to ask is if the student needs additional support when it comes to phonemic awareness, which is a type of phonological awareness that focuses on individual phonemes, or sounds. Phonemic awareness is most closely related to reading and spelling. The next question to ask is if the student needs support when it comes to decoding and sight word recognition.

There are many different ways to assess students, from formative snapshots to comprehensive diagnostic tools. Once we have the results of the assessment, we can tailor our interventions, to personalize the learning journey of our students.

Here are some common methods that are used:

Student Work Samples: We review students’ work samples, such as reading responses, written reflections, and reading logs, to gain insight into their understanding and application of reading skills. Analyzing these samples helps us to identify specific areas where students need targeted instruction.

Diagnostic Assessments: We can administer diagnostic assessments to gather information about students’ current reading abilities. These assessments may include decoding skills, phonological awareness, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. By analyzing the results, we can identify areas of strength and areas that require further development for each student.

Formative Assessments: We use formative assessments, such as observations and informal assessments, to gather ongoing, real-time data about students’ reading skills. These assessments provide valuable insights into students’ progress and help us to identify specific areas where students struggle.

Assessments can also be made easy and quick with ESGI. ESGI Software is a progress monitoring platform that streamlines the assessment process and provides valuable insights into student learning. With ESGI, you can quickly and easily create assessments tailored to your curriculum, administer them to your students, and instantly access real-time data on student performance. 

ESGI also helps you identify areas where your students may be struggling, providing the information you need to adjust your instruction and ensure every student is on track to succeed! I’ve used ESGI as a kindergarten and first-grade teacher and an interventionist.

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How to Offer Reading Intervention

One thing that is limited during the school day is time. Outside of the 30-minute block that’s set aside for tier 3 intervention, the rest of the day is divided for other activities. So how can we use the time that we have been given, yet still meet the needs of all of our students, including those who may need tier 2 support?

The answer is in our current literacy block. Every day we do the same thing, whole group, then we move into small groups and literacy centers. Let’s take a look at what this looks like in a primary classroom and how we can offer reading intervention through our normal schedule.

Whole Group

Whole group instruction is an active approach to reading intervention, extending beyond merely introducing new concepts. When students gather at the front, the teacher becomes a guide, leading interactive discussions while ensuring active participation. This method transforms into a tailored strategy in the context of reading intervention.

We can observe students’ performance during whole-class instruction and independent reading activities. We look for patterns of strengths and weaknesses in students’ reading behaviors in real-time and identify areas where students may benefit from additional support. This live assessment serves as that compass, helping us to identify weak areas hindering progress. Whole group instruction, therefore, becomes a pivotal moment to pinpoint challenges and collectively address them, providing a shared journey of growth.

The magic of whole-group instruction lies in its collaborative nature. As the teacher focuses on class-wide weak areas, students receive targeted support and witness the joint effort to overcome hurdles. When they see that a few of their classmates are also struggling but still persevering in learning, it makes them less afraid to step out and try. This shared experience fosters community, empowering students to actively participate in their learning.

Small Group

In the context of reading intervention, small group instruction takes center stage as a focused time that hones in on the learning needs of about 6 students at a time. In these sessions, teachers guide and target specific skills crucial to the student’s reading journey. Whether it involves understanding print concepts or mastering basic or advanced decoding, the small group setting offers a tailored environment where personalized interventions take root. 

You can use various strategies to address the specific needs of students in small-group instruction. Here are some commonly used strategies:

Differentiated Instruction: Instruction is tailored to meet the individual needs of students within the small group. We can modify the lesson’s content, process, and product to match each student’s readiness, interests, and learning preferences. This may involve providing additional support, offering alternative learning materials, or adjusting the pace of instruction.

One way to do this is by using blending lines. It’s a strategy that Wiley Blevins discusses in his book A Fresh Look at Phonics K-2.

Blending lines provide purposeful blending practice by guiding students in stringing phonemes together to read words. Research has shown that increased focus on blending leads to significant student gains.

The great thing about blending lines is that it gives every student an entry point. The top lines may contain word families, where only the beginning sound is changed, perfect for a beginning reader. The lower lines may change out the middle sounds, perfect for an intermediate reader, and the lines at the bottom may contain challenge words with the target skill, and connected text to round it out.

These blending lines are thoughtfully designed to scaffold instruction and provide differentiated learning experiences. They are also perfect for reinforcing what has been taught for a review before students dive into their decodable books.

Targeted Skill Instruction: There is a focus on explicitly teaching and practicing specific skills students need to develop. For example, if students struggle with phonemic awareness, a teacher may incorporate activities and exercises that target this skill, such as segmenting and blending sounds. By honing in on the specific needs of students, we can provide targeted instruction that addresses their areas of weakness.

Scaffolded Instruction: Opportunities are provided where students can apply their learning skills in a supported environment. This may involve engaging students in shared reading activities or interactive discussions focused on applying reading strategies. The teacher provides scaffolding and feedback to help students develop and strengthen their skills.

Flexible Grouping: Small groups can be reconfigured based on ongoing assessment data and students’ evolving needs. They may regroup students to allow for targeted instruction more closely aligned with their specific needs. Flexible grouping enables teachers to provide differentiated support and address the small group’s varying skill levels and learning styles.

Multi-Sensory Approaches: Teachers incorporate multi-sensory approaches to engage students and enhance their learning experience. This may involve using manipulatives, visual aids, kinesthetic activities, or technology tools that appeal to different learning modalities. By providing multiple entry points and diverse instructional strategies, teachers can cater to the specific needs of students in the small group.

Feedback and Reflection: Teachers provide timely and constructive feedback to students to guide their learning and growth. They encourage students to reflect on their progress, identify areas for improvement, and set goals. By providing feedback and fostering reflection, teachers support students in understanding their strengths and weaknesses and guide them toward continued development.

These are just a few examples of strategies teachers use in small-group instruction to address the specific needs of students. The strategies employed may vary depending on the student’s needs, the content being taught, and the instructional context.

Centers

In the world of reading intervention, literacy centers offer a versatile approach to support students’ literacy development. These centers are designed to engage students, provide targeted instruction, and practice specific reading skills, which will allow teachers to address the different needs of their students in a more individualized manner.

One of the key advantages of literacy centers is their flexibility. Teachers can create different stations within the classroom, each focusing on a particular skill or strategy. For example, there might be a phonics station where students practice letter-sound associations, a fluency station where they work on reading with accuracy and expression, a comprehension station where they engage in activities to enhance their understanding of texts, and a vocabulary station where they explore word meanings and usage. By rotating through these centers, students have the opportunity to engage with various aspects of reading and receive targeted instruction and practice in each area.

Literacy centers also lend themselves to differentiated instruction with ease. Differentiating instruction within literacy centers involves tailoring the activities and materials to meet the learning needs of students. Roll and read is one of those activities that you can differentiate with ease. It’s a quick and easy activity, where students can practice their fluency in CVC and CVCe word blending, vowel digraphs and more. Whatever phonics skill your students need practice in, you can insert into a roll and read activity.

Here are some strategies that you can use to differentiate instruction within literacy centers:

Varied Materials: Provide various materials at different reading levels to accommodate students’ abilities. This includes books, texts, and resources that align with varying levels of reading, allowing students to access appropriate content for their individual needs.

Modified Tasks: Adapt the complexity and difficulty of tasks to match students’ abilities. For instance, teachers can provide more straightforward texts or word lists with more frequent patterns for students who struggle with decoding. On the other hand, for more advanced readers, teachers can offer more complex tasks that require higher-level thinking or analysis.

Extension Activities: Offer extension activities for students who have already mastered the targeted skills or concepts. These activities provide opportunities for deeper exploration, critical thinking, or creative expression related to the literacy center topic. Extension activities allow advanced students to be appropriately challenged and continue their growth.

Differentiating instruction within literacy centers requires a deep understanding of students’ strengths, needs, and learning styles. By implementing these strategies, teachers can provide targeted support, challenge, and engagement for each student, fostering a more inclusive and effective learning environment within the literacy centers.

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Reading intervention is a powerful tool to support struggling readers and promote their success in the classroom. By utilizing various assessment methods, such as diagnostic assessments, formative assessments, classroom performance observations, and student work samples, teachers can identify areas of weakness and tailor interventions to meet the specific needs of their students.

Through whole-group instruction, teachers can address class-wide challenges and help to foster a sense of community aand shared progress. Small group instruction allows for targeted, personalized interventions, while literacy centers provide a flexible and differentiated approach to support students’ literacy development. By implementing these strategies, teachers can create a supportive and inclusive learning environment that empowers struggling readers and helps them unlock their full potential.