Breaking the Stigma of Older Struggling Readers

Through the years, I’ve visited classrooms all around the world.  

I recently visited a classroom full of inquisitive students ready to engage in a fun game where the teacher would go around the classroom and students would be ready to answer any questions the teacher had.  They were practicing their English.  There was a lot of clapping, laughing, cajoling, thinking, and silliness!  Almost everyone was having a great time.  However, in the back, I spotted two very quiet girls sitting at their desks, quietly watching the liveliness around them. Others weren’t talking to them or including them.  The class was doing a round-robin exercise where each student practiced a word or response in English. The teacher stood in the front.  When it was the two girls' turn, the teacher simply skipped over them. Neither girl seemed surprised. One was even asleep with her head on the desk.

After the lesson, a group of us sat down to talk about curriculum and funding.I brought up the two girls. The principal told me they were concerned because these students weren’t learning, they weren’t reading, and the teacher didn’t know what to do. Various reasons for their behavior were suggested.  Interestingly the conversation turned to how these girls (and other students with learning needs) were perceived in the community

• Parents or teachers were at fault
• The struggling readers were lazy
• Teachers had low expectations for these students
• There is no funding to help these particular students who struggle. 
• There is money for technology but not to help these students.

A couple of the teachers wondered how they could help these girls. They described how they noticed the girls were struggling to read. These were older students, and they had not yet had any data to show their struggles. There was no present level of performance or past level of performance.  Just a lot of guessing.

 Here is the good news!

As a teacher, we can start with simply paying attention and collecting data.  It’s easy and fast to collect a few pieces to help with the puzzle.  My top three tips are:

1. Team up with another educator (the more the better) to help collect the struggling readers' work.  
2. Talk to the parents and share your concerns.  Listen to the parents.  They might have some important insights and stories to share.  
3. After collecting information, research solutions or ask experts in your community about next steps.

 Often, I hear there isn’t time and money to help these students.  Of course funding for resources provides amazing possibilities for struggling readers, but if you don’t have funding, you can still reach struggling readers and help them make the gains they need.

 It takes creativity and one educator who is motivated.

Collecting data doesn’t have to be fancy or formal.  It can be accessed by anyone, anywhere…But it does have to be consistent. At least 3 times a week for about 20 minutes is a good start.

How do we help our struggling readers to gain skills faster, so they don’t keep falling behind?

When we teach reading step-by-step using clear, hands-on lessons that focus on sounds and letters, readers can use their brain power to understand what they read. If they don’t learn each skill, it’s hard for them to move forward. For example, if they can’t easily match sounds with letters, they won’t be able to read words, much less understand them. Once they can match spoken words with written words, they can understand the text.

Studies show that this type of teaching changes how the brains of struggling readers work. When students learn phonics with clear, hands-on methods, new connections form in their brains. With practice, these connections get stronger, helping them become better readers. Brain scans after this kind of teaching show that poor readers' brains start to look more like those of good readers.

As Malala Yousafzai said, "One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world." It doesn’t take a lot of money or extra resources to begin a daily 30 minute systematic reading program.  Nothing store bought or costly.  Through creativity, patience, and commitment from educators and parents, and by addressing the unique needs of older struggling readers, we can help them contribute to their communities and be wildly successful!

Read more to find out more about how I can help you solve scheduling and resource issues!