The "Read, Imagine, Decide, and Do" (RIDD) reading strategy was developed based on observations of student behaviors and reading problems while completing academic tasks. The four steps of the RIDD strategy are described. To determine its effectiveness, four elementary teachers in a rural northeastern Nebraska school taught the RIDD strategy. Each teacher reported at least one student in their class who had a disability or who experienced difficulty learning. After 5 weeks, three of the four completed a survey. Results showed that all of the teachers found the strategy useful in helping students to focus on the task at hand. All teachers noted the strategy to be useful or somewhat useful in helping students find ways to solve their own problems, relieving stress involved with a difficult learning situation, assisting the teacher to demonstrate a learning strategy, familiarizing students with the concept of visual imagery, assisting students in transforming new knowledge into their own knowledge bases, and increasing students' comprehension. Two teachers noted the strategy to be very useful in helping students read the instructions of exercises, and all teachers indicated that the strategy was useful with word problems. However, in increasing students' academic performance, the strategy ranged from somewhat useful to not useful. The strategy proved effective with both special and general education students. (TD)