The primary purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a close reading instructional routine (also known as analytical reading decades ago) that has been described in the literature and promoted as a process to help students reading complex text independently and proficiently. A single subject alternating treatments design was implemented with six fourth grade students who had been identified as at risk for academic failure and were receiving supplemental, small-group instruction in their rural public school. The alternating treatments design allowed for a direct comparison of the close reading instructional routine and a validated reading comprehension strategy instruction intervention known as Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR; Klingner, Vaughn, Dimino, Schumm, & Bryant, 2001) over a six-week intervention time frame. Dependent variables included general outcome measures of reading comprehension and writing expression. No clear patterns emerged as a result of visual analysis. Results appeared to favor CSR in terms of reading comprehension and neither intervention in relationship to written expression. Limitations, implications, and future research areas were discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]