First grade is a monumental time for your students in their reading journey. During first grade, children are developing the necessary skills to have a solid foundation in reading. But, not all students enter first grade at the same reading level. Some students are just emerging, while others have already developed a pretty solid foundation with their reading skills. Regardless of the skill level, first grade is a critical time for first graders to improve their reading skills and be building upon new ones.
As teachers, we can all say we have had students who struggle with reading. Helping your struggling readers can be really tough, but you and your struggling readers will be less stressed and more confident with this list of ways and lots of encouragement.
Identify the Struggle
First and foremost, the most critical aspect of helping struggling readers is to figure out the root of their problem. Not all struggling readers are battling the same issues. With most things in teaching, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach. You can start helping them if you don’t know where to start, right? Is your student struggling with sight words, fluency, comprehension, or phonemic and phonological awareness? Start with identifying what is difficult for them. Take a look back at your previous reading assessments or use a new assessment to help you identify their struggle. I use a variety of these tools to help assess my readers. Here are a few that might be helpful.
Assessment and Intervention Bundle
Reading Comprehension Assessment
Multi-Sensory Approach
I am a big believer in using a multi-sensory approach in my classroom for all different curriculum areas but especially reading. It’s important for all of my students but it’s especially important for those struggling with reading. A multi-sensory approach allows students to engage physically with the material and use their senses to engage much deeper. When we have more senses to connect newly learned information, it helps us to remember better. Simply put, this approach is way more fun. It’s hands-on, not boring, and they want to engage with the lesson we are working on. I use this approach in many different ways. I use pictures and allow students to act out the letter sounds. Play-Doh smash is one of my absolute favorites because who doesn’t love Play-Doh? Pop fidgets are the craze right now, and they are the best for pairing with various phonics activities.
I have been using 3 resources in my first grade classroom that have yielded big results:
- Phonics Segmenting and Blending Slides It doesn’t get easier than this! These slides provide great decoding practice and are self-correcting! Just present the slideshow and go!
- Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Centers Practice is key! These centers make it easy to give students the repetition they need.
- Small Group Orton Gillingham Intervention – Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4.
Head over to Instagram, I love sharing the different activities we do in my classroom. Using this approach makes reading a little less stressful and way more fun for your readers who might be reluctant because it’s hard for them.
Take it Slow
More than likely, your struggling readers fell off the wagon because it was moving too fast. They got lost somewhere in the midst, and now they are struggling. So one of the most important aspects of working with struggling readers is to minimize stress, and we can do this by taking it at their pace. Allowing them to move through the material at their own pace will enable them to move on when they fully understand something. And we all know what the research says, these students need multiple opportunities for practice!
When we put stress on students to learn quickly, it doesn’t motivate them nor build their confidence—oftentimes, taking it slow means revisiting and building on previously known material and diving deep into it until they are reading to move on.
Use Decodable Text
Decodable text is really important for beginning readers because it is often sequenced to incorporate consistency with the letter and sound relationships that our students already know. Using these texts in the earlier stages of reading makes sure students develop the skills to read without guessing or using a picture. Decodable text is beneficial for struggling readers as it helps build fluency and confidence. I give a lot more information about decodable text and its benefits inside this post and this one. This bundle is excellent for phonics reinforcement. It’s engaging and beneficial for your struggling readers. If you are looking for something SUPER EASY and NO-PREP, check out Phonics Mats! You can get them for a discount in my blog here or on TeachersPayTeachers OR try a set for free here!
Already have these? Not to fret, I have even more decodable resources!
Decodable Passages (These are also available in my blog shop)
Read, Read and Read
You will never get good at something without practice. Plain and simple, when we want our students to enjoy something, we have to model and show our students the importance. I set aside time every day to read to my students. I want them to love reading as much as I do. I also have a large collection of different-level books because I want something that even my struggling readers can enjoy. I also love using these passages with my struggling readers as extra reinforcement, and it’s a great way to incorporate independent reading. Make sure to set aside time for both read-alouds and independent reading. I promise it will help.
Encouragement and Support
Our struggling readers struggle with confidence and often feel defeated because they feel like they are failing. It is so important to be their cheerleader by providing encouragement and support. Making a note of the things they do well helps build their self-esteem. When you see how hard they have worked, compliment them. Make your struggling readers feel seen, and I do this by picking out a book just for them because it gives them confidence that I know they can read it and makes them feel special that I found a book they would enjoy. “I noticed you are interested in sharks lately, and I picked out this book that I think you would love to read.” Encouragement and support will motivate your struggling readers.
Peer Work
Our struggling readers know they struggle. They are aware that their peers are reading at higher levels. Their confidence is lower, and they might even be embarrassed about it. It’s important that we note and identify the students in the class who are strong readers and who would make great helpers. Make a note of these students and pair them up with the struggling readers. When your struggling readers can work side by side with stronger readers who want to help, it will make them feel less embarrassed but in turn, accepted by their peers.
First grade is a critical time for your first graders to improve their reading skills and build upon new ones, which means it’s a crucial time to help your struggling readers overcome obstacles. Every single one of us has had a struggling reader, the student who shies away when you ask for a volunteer to read, or a student who tries and tries to avoid the guided reading center. And, I know for me, working with struggling readers is challenging. I want to make it easy and enjoyable for them. I worry about my struggling readers, and it weighs on my heart, trust me. It’s important to remember that explicit practice, time, and a ton of encouragement can make reading a less daunting task for our struggling first-graders. Be sure to check out my Instagram or Facebook page, where I share fun ways to encourage reading in the classroom, and I am always sharing my favorite books!
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