Reading intervention is intensive, targeted instruction that accelerates students’ progress and closes the gap between their current reading level and grade-level expectations. This includes the use of research-based instructional practices, such as Structured Literacy.
It includes explicit and direct instruction in phonics, vocabulary, comprehension and reading fluency. It also supports the Multi-Tiered System of Supports framework.
Oral Reading
Oral reading is a vital part of reading instruction and should be taught along with other phonics and comprehension skills. Research shows that oral reading fluency is a good predictor of comprehension and is important to develop for all students.
For oral reading assessments, teachers should use passages that have been carefully calibrated and standardized so results are reliable. Using an assessment with national norms helps teachers to easily identify areas where students need improvement.
There are many strategies to use for oral reading fluency interventions, such as repeated reading, word-supply feedback, phonics-based feedback, and syllable segmentation and blending. Educators can also pair students to read aloud and provide verbal feedback.
New technology has made administration of oral reading fluency assessments faster and easier. For example, some AI software listens to passages and determines the number of words correctly read in one minute to obtain a word-correct-per-minute (WCPM) score. This can save teachers time by automating what has traditionally been a labor-intensive task.
Phonics
Phonics is a vital foundational skill for reading success, especially in struggling readers. Phonics is the process of learning to connect sounds with letters and recognize phonics patterns. Once students master phonics, they can begin to read printed text.
A recent study by Gersten et al found that intensive phonics intervention resulted in significantly larger effects on word reading than other reading interventions. This was true for both students who scored at the bottom 9% of their class in both identifier tests and those who were below the 50% line on their identifier test.
In a phonics-based program, teachers can teach in small groups with a structured scope and sequence that introduces new skills over time. A phonics assessment can also help determine the most effective reading intervention strategy for each student. This tool helps to pinpoint specific gaps in foundational skills that can be addressed with push-in or pull-out interventions in a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS).
Comprehension
Comprehension is a complex process that involves the cognitive skills of attention, memory and inference. It also requires the use of vocabulary to connect words and phrases to a story or passage.
Educators play a key role in fostering comprehension development and enabling learners to access and understand information. They can help learners develop the strategies and skills they need to decode text and make connections with their own experiences and knowledge.
They can also teach students to ask open-ended questions and promote metacognition. Finally, they can provide quality short texts that are appropriate for the students’ instructional levels and support their learning.
Reading intervention also helps to strengthen a student’s confidence and self-esteem by teaching a variety of reading skills and strategies. These are usually taught in small groups of children who have similar problems, either individually or with the help of a trained teacher. They are then encouraged to practice these techniques at home.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary knowledge, defined as knowing how to pronounce words correctly and understand their meanings in context, is critical for reading comprehension. Research shows that students with a large vocabulary build their comprehension skills faster than students who struggle with word recognition.
Clinicians can teach students strategies to improve their vocabulary, such as using context clues and analyzing word parts (prefixes, suffixes, roots) to identify the meaning of unfamiliar words. They can also incorporate vocabulary lessons into subject-specific curriculum and activities to increase student exposure and practice.
A common challenge for many students is their comparatively limited vocabulary. This can lead to underperformance on vocabulary-dependent assessments such as Lexile scores. Understanding the role that vocabulary plays in comprehension and academic assessment can help clinicians target specific strategies to support these students.