Instructional Planning: Struggles to Support Students’ Reading Skills

As students continue to demonstrate challenges with reading, educators question if they are equipped to support learners who may need additional support. Many educators also attributed these challenges to a lack of reading time during the school day and pressures students face to learn how to read at a young age, resulting in a dislike for reading that prevents them from reading during their free time.

  • “I need training on reading instruction for my incoming students. Like, we secondary teachers need training on reading instruction now! Our kids missed A TON of that early reading instruction during the pandemic & now these kids are sitting in my 8th grade classroom.” —ELA Teacher in Michigan
    • “Like, this is giving me anxiety! And it needs to be a Tier 1 thing. EVERY teacher in the building needs this training. Secondary teacher training doesn’t focus on reading instruction, and we need it!” —ELA Teacher in Michigan
    • “Feel this! I’m part of a group chat here on Twitter alongside other people focused on literacy instruction at the secondary level. If you’re interested in joining, we’ve been having ongoing discussions about how important this is and sharing ideas!” —Special Education Teacher in New York
    • “Our school requires all employees even if they’re not teachers to do the three day Introductory Wilson Reading System training! I found it really helpful for understanding the basics of reading and language instruction!” —Educator in California
  • “If we don’t give kids time to read, when do they read? In most cases it’s not at home. There is a chasm of difference between SSR & independent reading imho, but the lines get erased & then we direct instruction for hours without practice. Reading is like a sport. You need to do it a lot with coaching.” —Educator in New York
    • “I set aside structured time in my class for chosen reading. Students could choose books, they didn’t have to write the essay afterwards and I read with them. It took time, patience & an explicit explanation of why we were doing this..did I mention it took time, lots of it.” —Instructional Coach in Wisconsin
    • “Thank you for this! You can’t stress this enough.  Practice the reading, enjoy the reading, savor the reading. Where did all of this go?” —Educator in New York
    • “When we’re thinking about equity issues in reading instruction, I rarely hear this issue mentioned. Who are the kids who have and don’t have access to books, time and space outside of school? Who has access, money, and the time to buy books or visit libraries and who doesn’t?” —Math Teacher in Virginia
    • “Great point! Time in class to read is hugely important, but it is only part of the solution.  Students must be given high interest books with diverse stories at a variety of levels (GNs 2) access to the content of the books through book talks, and Tiered support if it’s difficult.” —Educator in Canada
  • “I haven’t been following the conversation so I don’t know the origins. But I have the unpopular opinion that a lot of the requirements for kids at school, especially kindergarten are too much. I don’t think the average kid should have to know how to read at the end of it.” —Educator, N/A
    • “The expectations for kindergarteners are not remotely age appropriate! The focus on academics and ‘teaching to the test’ does such a disservice to children. We’re setting so many kids up for failure and for what?” —Educator in Massachusetts
    • “Thank you! Reading is HARD. Who decided kindergarten is THE TIME and if a kid doesn’t read by then, they’re ‘behind?’ Some kids are just getting used to being around other kids and regulating their emotions.” —High School English Teacher in Texas
  • “I wonder if children would be more likely to read for pleasure as teenagers if we didn’t make them feel stupid for not being able to read fluently by the end of kindergarten?” —Teacher in Georgia
    • “If, for example, we could focus on learning as an enjoyable activity instead of a measurable one… we might have a bunch more smart people running around.” —High School History Teacher, N/A
    • “I’ve had 8th, 9th, or 10th graders who said they had never liked Language Arts class or felt confident in it – even though they had a B and I thought their reading and writing looked fine. Then I’d learn that it went back to being put in the lowest reading group in 1st grade.” —Educator in Colorado