How to help older students learn how to read

There are a number of evidence-based strategies that can be used to teach students in high school how to read. These include:

1. Explicit instruction: This involves directly teaching students the skills and strategies they need to be successful readers. This can include teaching students about phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies.
2. Reading aloud: Reading aloud to students can help to build their comprehension and vocabulary skills, as well as expose them to new texts and ideas.
3. Independent reading: Encouraging students to choose their own books and read independently can help to build their motivation and engagement with reading.
4. Collaborative reading: Having students work together to read and discuss texts can help to build their comprehension and critical thinking skills.
5. Vocabulary instruction: Directly teaching students new words and their meanings can help to improve their reading comprehension.
6. Assisting with text decoding: Providing support and guidance to students who are struggling with text decoding can help to build their confidence and improve their reading skills.
7. Promoting a love of reading: Encouraging students to explore different genres and find books that they enjoy can help to build their motivation and engagement with reading.

The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) has published a practice guide on teaching reading in grades 4-8. The guide is based on a review of the research literature on effective reading instruction, and it provides recommendations for evidence-based practices that educators can use to support the reading development of students in these grade levels.

One key recommendation is to use a balanced approach to reading instruction, which combines phonics instruction with a focus on comprehension and meaning. This approach involves explicit instruction in phonics and word recognition skills, as well as opportunities for students to read and write extensively in a variety of genres.

Another recommendation is to use formative assessment to monitor student progress and inform instruction. This can involve using running records to track student reading fluency and accuracy, as well as asking students to reflect on their own reading process and set goals for improvement.

The practice guide also emphasizes the importance of providing students with appropriate levels of text complexity, and suggests that educators should use text complexity measures, such as the Lexile framework, to match students with texts that are appropriately challenging.

Finally, the practice guide suggests that educators should incorporate a range of instructional strategies to support student reading development, including guided reading, independent reading, and collaborative learning activities.

Overall, the NCEE practice guide provides a wealth of evidence-based strategies and recommendations for teaching reading in grades 4-8. By implementing these strategies, educators can support the reading development of their students and help them become proficient, lifelong readers.