Teaching children to inquire, discuss ideas, and defend thinking about a literary text is a key aim of the common core state standards (CCSS). This article describes how four third-grade, male struggling readers successfully co-constructed meaning during a discussion based reading intervention rooted in philosophical inquiry. Three elements that…

When literacy instruction uses books selected on the basis of thematic content, it can foster the attainment of literacy goals while developing readers' knowledge. This paper provides a rationale for the use of thematically-related texts in literacy instruction and describes some thematic units that have been a part of literacy intervention…

The authors present findings from a data-driven account in which they followed ten fifth-grade students receiving intervention in reading through Georgia's test-based grade retention policy. Under the policy, the students had little confidence in themselves as readers and felt that reading test passages was unnecessary and difficult.…

Canine-assisted reading programs show promise as an innovative method for engaging reluctant readers and motivating them to practice. In such programs, specially trained dogs visit classrooms and libraries, and children read to them. Children who struggle with reading may be motivated to read more because they find dogs to be calming and…

A group of elementary school reading teachers used their time in a Professional Learning Community to develop a systematic intervention to address the needs of struggling readers in grades 3 to 5. Working as a team, they identified a collection of books that was culturally diverse, high interest, appealing to boys and girls, aligned with…

We now have an evidence base that documents that we could teach every child to read by the end of first grade. However, most schools have almost none of the key aspects of instruction that have been available in the research to ensure we achieve this goal. In this paper I argue that this failure is not the result of inadequate funding but rather…

Children with reading difficulties often face social and emotional challenges as well. These struggles may be particularly taxing for these children as classrooms increase in diversity and they encounter fewer people like themselves. In response to these issues, we developed an approach to teaching reading called Relationally Oriented Reading…

Envisioning oneself as a competent reader is an important first step to reading well. This article describes an intervention that employs drawings coupled with teacher-student dialogue, which sets the stage for strategy learning as a key to word-solving. A process for the interventionist, Title I or any teacher working with students who find…

As a part of Response to Intervention, for three years, ten reading interventionists provided supplemental support to readers. They formed a learning community, took an inquiry-based approach to assessment and developed a theory of what students needed to know and be able to do as readers. They addressed and learned from several other challenges:…

In this article, the authors introduce a data analysis procedure, abbreviated as FAD, to help literacy professionals who work with children in clinical or classroom settings identify and interpret patterns of assessment data with the goal of determining children's literacy strengths and needs. The procedure uses data from multiple literacy…

Conversations are the heart of responsive teaching. By talking with struggling learners, teachers can find out about their interests in order to design effective, personalized instruction; build relationships; work through complexities in teaching and learning; and celebrate successes.

Connecting reading and writing has important implications for all readers, but particularly for those who struggle in learning to read and write. Based on their work with children who struggle, the authors focus on reciprocal cognitive operations or strategies that draw on sources of knowledge used in both reading and writing. Their aim in this…

Noted scholar, teacher educator, and IRA past-president Linda Gambrell answers readers' questions about motivating young and struggling readers.

Two successful and two struggling beginning readers were studied with the goal of understanding how beginning readers of varying ability levels make sense of instruction in learning to read. Through interviews, classroom observations, and the collection of artifacts from home and school, the author explored meanings constructed by the students…

In this article, the authors suggest that many of the problems struggling readers encounter while reading stem from distinct yet fundamental sources of difficulty related to the types of text read (print or online), the task or activity readers engage in, and the sociocultural context of reading. The authors further argue that although these…