The study's primary purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of a widely promoted close reading instructional routine for elementary grades students at risk for reading failure. Close reading is designed to help students read complex text independently and proficiently. Participants were six fourth-grade students receiving supplemental instruction in a rural public school. A single subject alternating treatments design was implemented to compare the close reading instructional routine to a validated reading comprehension strategy instruction intervention over a six-week intervention time frame. Results determined through visual inspection of a general outcome reading comprehension measure were mixed, seemingly favoring the validated intervention and not close reading. Limitations of the research and implications for use of close reading with students at risk are discussed.