More and more students with learning disabilities and other diverse learners are placed for instruction in general education classrooms, which often leaves teachers grappling to design successful peer interactions and literacy activities to meet the needs of all learners in their classrooms. As the shift is made to align literacy instruction to…

Early reading intervention is crucial to ensure all students develop strong foundational literacy skills for academic and lifelong success. This Spotlight will help readers investigate the benefits of tutoring on early reading skills; identify how to build students' reading stamina; gain insights into knowledge-building curricula; review the…

Researchers have found that summer reading loss contributes to the reading achievement gap between low and high socioeconomic (SES) children. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a 3-week summer intervention in addressing this slide for 36 low SES children compared with another 36 children in a matched control group from one New…

"Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies" and a similar program known as "Peer-Assisted Literacy Strategies" are peer-tutoring programs that supplement the primary reading curriculum (Fuchs, Fuchs, Kazdan, & Allen, 1999; Mathes & Babyak, 2001). This review uses the acronym "PALS" to encompass both programs and their…

"Sound Partners" (Vadasy et al., 2004) is a phonics-based tutoring program that provides supplemental reading instruction to elementary school students grades K-3 with below average reading skills. The program is designed specifically for use by tutors with minimal training and experience. Instruction emphasizes letter-sound…

The purposes of this study were to replicate previous research on phonics-based tutoring in kindergarten and to compare treatment effects for students who received individual instruction compared to instruction in dyads. Thirty classroom teachers from 13 urban elementary schools referred at-risk students for participation. Students who met…

"Success for All" ("SFA")[R] is a comprehensive school reform model that includes a reading, writing, and oral language development program for students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. Its underlying premise is that all children can and should be reading at grade level by the end of third grade and then remain at grade…

Success for All (SFA)[R] is a whole-school reform model that includes a reading, writing, and oral language development program for students in prekindergarten through eighth grade. Classroom reading instruction is delivered in daily 90-minute blocks to students grouped by reading ability. Immediate intervention with tutors who are certified…

Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) is a peer-tutoring program. According to the developer's web site, it is designed to be incorporated into the existing curriculum with the goal of improving the academic performance of children with diverse academic needs. Teachers train students to use PALS procedures. Students partner with peers,…

This study investigated the efficacy of a method of parent training and parent reading tutoring that built on past research. Parents of five first-grade children who were reading below grade level participated. Parents were trained to implement a tutoring procedure that included modeling, practice, phonics, fluency building, accuracy building,…

This book offers suggestions to help parents make their children successful readers and learners. The first chapter, Getting Started, discusses setting an example, being a tutor, creating a positive environment, and letting children be the stars. The second chapter, The Reading Process: Building Meaning, discusses setting a purpose, stages of the…

This study described a program designed to increase student reading comprehension in order to improve academic achievement. The targeted population consisted of third and eighth grade students in two schools located in Northern Illinois. Evidence for the existence of the problem included scores from the Stanford Test, low academic performance on…

This handbook is a practical aid intended to help the tutor of adult illiterates assess the student's needs, evaluate his progress, and plan a program which will assist him in reaching the level of functional literacy (i.e., the ability to develop reading skills and vocabulary, using reference books, without outside help). Evaluation and lesson…

This scope and sequence chart was developed in South Carolina to aid adult literacy tutors. The chart is divided into four strands that represent the major components of reading: phonics; comprehension/critical thinking; communication; and life skills. Each strand is divided into skill areas that were considered to be major areas of need for adult…

This guide is intended to assist teachers and volunteer tutors who are teaching adults and teenagers to read. The nature and extent of the adult illiteracy problem and the process of learning to read are discussed in the first chapter. The characteristics that are desirable in basic reading tutors and those that are encountered in adult learners…