Watch the RecordingListen to the Podcast

Students have struggled with reading for as long as the written word has existed, so how can educators best help them develop the reading comprehension skills they need to become confident, lifelong readers? This was the question addressed during the edLeader Panel “Teaching Reading Today: Bridging Research, Practice, and the Social Value of Literacy.”

Carol Jago, Associate Director of UCLA’s California Reading and Literature Project and Past President of the National Council of Teachers of English, Lorna Simmons, Former Special Education Teacher and Author of Saxon Reading Foundations, and Dr. JT Torres, Director of the Houston H. Harte Center for Teaching and Learning, shared their expert insights and advice for helping readers of all abilities succeed.

Build Skills Through Challenges and Interests

Teachers need a comprehensive approach to literacy that bridges research and necessary literacy skills. Reading takes effort; however, the world rewards effortless reading. As readers, they spend most of their time on phones, requiring less effort, and without effort, students don’t develop certain skills. By identifying that starting point, teachers can find ways to develop skills and guide students to deeper materials.

When teachers help students become aware of when reading is more difficult, students can recognize the challenges. Raising expectations and giving kids challenges is what makes reading fun. In addition to challenges, students will read books if they feel motivated by topics that interest them. This also ensures students have equitable opportunities to develop their literacy skills. It is imperative to identify student interests and what they want to learn in order to make connections to books and to make reading rewarding.

Model Reading Behaviors

A big part of this is modeling. Teachers let students see them read and model behaviors, like skipping dull parts of books and coming back later, discussing books, and building a community of readers in the classroom. Activities like having students read aloud build social-emotional skills and give students of all levels a safe place to converse. This lets students bring in prior knowledge and demonstrate expertise in different topics, discuss powerful questions, and build a sense of community and togetherness. Additionally, online resources (such as BookTok, a subcommunity on TikTok) help students develop a sense of community around books outside the classroom.

Support Without Lowering Standards

Students need different levels of support, so there’s no real standardized approach to literature. That doesn’t mean lower standards, though. It means texts at the appropriate level that match student interests. Teachers can also expose students to new books they might find interesting, or let them pick books they want to read, even if the books initially seem too advanced. Let them read what they want, but offer suggestions, too.

Offer Choices

Classrooms should have many books of different levels and topics available to students. For example, student readers often judge books by page length. And, book covers matter—students won’t read books with boring, worn covers. Teachers must also teach students how to choose books. A big part of all of this is ensuring they have easy access to books to choose from in the classroom, library, or home.

Don’t Forget Digital

The literacy landscape requires digital literacy, which involves skills transferable to print. Evaluating different types of online sources and ways to think about those sources, for example, are skills transferable to understanding literature. Students read differently online, which can be a starting point in helping them learn to read print. While students may want to use resources, such as AI for shortcuts, teachers can find ways to use it to engage students, like having AI responses read aloud.

It’s no secret that teachers do not have a lot of spare time in their schedules, but they can still create purposeful and joyful literacy opportunities with just a few minutes a day spent on reading, plus reading in other subject areas reinforces those skills. By encouraging students and building a sense of community around books, teachers help all students build the skills they need and develop a lifelong love of reading.

Learn more about this edWeb broadcast, Teaching Reading Today: Bridging Research, Practice, and the Social Value of Literacy, sponsored by Heinemann.

Watch the RecordingListen to the Podcast

Join the Community

Teaching Reading and Writing is a free professional learning community that provides a place where educators can collaborate on literacy instruction.

Delivering world-class educational resources to enhance teacher practice, advance student outcomes, and set the foundation for a lifetime of learning.

Article by Jon Scanlon, based on this edLeader Panel