How can educators help struggling readers build necessary skills regardless of their learning environment? Students need to be able to build reading fluency, comprehension, and stamina—whether they are learning in-person, virtually, or a hybrid of the two.
In a recent presentation at the ESEA conference, we shared how Reading Plus can help Title I students build essential silent reading skills, accelerate their reading growth, and increase their confidence as readers. Karen Harris, director of English language arts and testing at Orange Public Schools in New Jersey, joined as a guest speaker to share lessons learned as the district explored different approaches to keep students engaged over the last year.
If you didn’t get the chance to watch the presentation, click here to view the recording and check out our key takeaways below.
Key Takeaways
Silent Reading Fluency Is Key
Silent reading fluency is taught the least, yet tested the most. The challenge for teachers is how to teach silent reading fluency. Both non-proficient and proficient readers can struggle with low reading fluency, affecting these readers’ motivation and engagement in reading. Becoming a fluent reader allows a student to focus more deeply on comprehension, read increasingly complex texts, and become a more confident and engaged reader.
Focus on Student Engagement
Find out what motivates your students and tap into those interests. Foster a community by including families in the learning experience and leverage technology like social media to communicate and celebrate success. Make the space for informal check-ins by offering students a time to drop in “virtually” to chat about anything. Check-ins help build relationships and show that you care!
