PART 4 - WE ARE FAILING OUR STRUGGLING READERS: THE STORY OF ROBERT

We are failing our struggling readers because we are force-feeding them all the standardized reading slop, administered in the same way, and in the same sequence as every other human being subjected to the same for-profit, one-size-fits-all, standardized reading instruction program. Struggling readers are not standardized entities. Neither should their reading interventions. Depending on students’ needs, intervention sessions for reading should include some or all of the following seven elements:

1. Word work

2. Word identification

3. Maze and cloze work

4. Writing

5. Fluency work

6. Comprehension

7. Reading practice