I am often asked by classroom teachers what they should be doing to help struggling readers who fall into the Tier 2 reading support level in the classroom. Of course, this depends upon the age of the child you are working with but here are some common problem areas that you might consider as you shape your Tier 2 support groups. As I have often pointed out in my Threads of Reading books, reading is a linear process. Good readers develop skills in a predictable order. When holes develop in the fabric of reading, problems occur and reading progress stops or significantly breaks down. Before a child can move on, we have to help them get past the stopping point so they can continue to grow as a reader.

This means that the first task we have to do is to figure out where the child’s reading is breaking down. Some children, particularly those who are non-English speakers or those who come from impoverished backgrounds, may need work in the area of phonemic awareness and identifying the letter names and the sounds that are associated with each letter. These children are also likely to need more work in building an expansive and rich vocabulary. They may also need to be presented with experiences that build background knowledge and information. They may not have much experience with books or hearing good readers so teachers should also model fluent reading and how to think about the information or story contained in the book being read. Read alouds led by the teacher can also help readers who need these experiences.

Still other children, may be struggling with phonics. They may need to have closely supervised work in identifying beginning, ending and medial sounds or lessons in how to segment and blend phonemes to make words they recognize.  If a child can’t connect the word to words s/he knows, then a child will make little meaning from the words s/he sees on paper. Each child must be able to easily apply decoding skills to new words so they can match them to words they already know.

Some children may be able to decode words but may read in a slow and halting manner because they are trying to decode every word in the sentence. Since too much cognitive energy is required for decoding, they do not comprehend what they are reading because there isn’t enough mental energy left to “listen” to the meaning. Fluent readers recognize many common words and only spend time decoding words not a part of their sight vocabulary. Like memorizing basic math facts, good readers instantly recognize a large storehouse of words. These “sight words” allow them to devote more cognitive power to extracting meaning rather than focusing on decoding. These children may need work on learning to recognize the common words they will encounter. Dolch words may be practiced in a flash card format to help children expand their ability to instantly recognize the shape and letter combination of words they might see in grade level books. When children can recognize many words without having to stop and decode them, they can become more fluent and successful readers.

Reading is a “participation sport.”  You have to DO reading to get better at reading. While all of these strategies are helpful for children, the most effective strategy is actively reading to become a more effective reader. The more children practice reading – rather than applying isolated skills -  the stronger readers they will become. Figure out how to increase the amount of time your children spend actually reading each day with material at their independent reading level to build stronger readers. This support is what will make your children get past the speed bumps and become fluent readers with your guided support.