Many pre-service teachers express a lack of confidence and preparedness to face the challenges of teaching reading in today's classrooms. The current study looks at whether Structured Participation Experiences (SPE) in reading increase pre-service teachers' preparedness to teach reading compared to more traditional unstructured field experiences. Findings indicate that SPE can increase pre-service teachers' knowledge of child development, understanding of the role of the teacher, and understanding and use of teaching strategies. Structured Participation Experiences also provide students more opportunities to work directly with students.