Research on multi-tiered, research-based reading interventions provides strong evidence for the critical role of early reading instruction and the benefits of early intervention for children who are struggling to learn to read (Blachman et al., 2004; Denton, Fletcher, Anthony, & Francis, 2006). Research on effective approaches for older…

This study examined the effects of online reading instruction for at-risk fourth-grade students in Philadelphia. The authors used a multiple baseline design to assess the extent to which the students increased their oral reading rate given systematic supplemental online reading instruction. Tutoring consisted of 4 sessions per week with 50-min…

The authors used a pretest-posttest control group design with random assignment to evaluate whether early reading failure decreases children's motivation to practice reading. First, they investigated whether 60 first-grade children would report substantially different levels of interest in reading as a function of their relative success or failure…

"Reading Recovery"[R] is a short-term tutoring intervention designed to serve the lowest-achieving (bottom 20%) first-grade students. The goals of "Reading Recovery"[R] include: promoting literacy skills; reducing the number of first-grade students who are struggling to read; and preventing long-term reading difficulties. The…

The purpose of this paper is to describe the efficacy of early literacy interventions and to discuss possible roles for volunteer tutors in helping prevent reading difficulties within the Response to Intervention process. First, we describe a landmark study that evaluated the impact of primary classroom instruction on reducing the proportion of…

Start Making a Reader Today[R] (SMART[R]) is a volunteer tutoring program widely implemented in Oregon for students in grades K-2 who are at risk of reading failure. The program is designed to be a low-cost, easy-to-implement intervention. Volunteer tutors go into schools where at least 40% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch…

The purpose of this handbook, which was developed by the National Reading Center, is to bring to each child who is having trouble learning to read a trained tutor to give him the right kind of help. Sections are given to explaining some characteristics of children who have reading problems, outlining some general principles of successful tutoring,…

Describes the chief characteristics of the Success for All program and reports some results of its effects on beginning readers and writers. Concludes that reading failure is fundamentally preventable for nearly all children, regardless of home background. (MG)

To help an elementary-level reader in a secondary school learn to read, the program must not threaten the student's ego or undermine peer approval, and it must be individualized, in the diagnostic-prescriptive mold. Any organizational plan that meets these criteria should be workable. The characteristics of several possible approaches are…

This study examines the effectiveness of a one-on-one reading intervention using trained tutors. Participants were 49 first-grade students at risk for reading failure. The three-step tutoring model included repeated reading of familiar text, explicit coaching in decoding and word-solving strategies, and reading new books during each 15-minute…

The Helping One Student to Succeed (HOSTS) Language Arts volunteer tutoring program was evaluated by comparing pre- and post-intervention scores on standardized measures of reading using a 5-month test-retest interval. Students (n = 129) from six elementary schools in Michigan that utilize the HOSTS program served as the experimental group, and…

This manual for nonprofessional tutors in remedial reading programs outside of the established educational structure deals with specific techniques needed for teaching children, adolescents, and adults to read. It describes the problems of the student who comes for instruction and discusses the relationship between him and the tutor. It outlines…

Reading skill can be acquired in a natural and informal manner and in a variety of settings ranging from the school to the streets. Anyone who wants to learn to read or to develop his reading ability can do so if the following conditions are satisfied: (1) A person who knows how to read and wants to share his knowledge is willing to help. (2)…

An analysis of the problems of an illiterate woman who learned to read as an adult, based on oral history techniques supplemented by information from teachers, family, and friends, is presented in this paper. An account of the woman's life is first presented to show her complete inability to read or write through ten years of schooling, the…