Pronunciation exercises – modeling sounds and teaching strategies for how to pronounce problem sounds, for example – can help struggling learners develop the skill of associating sounds with letters. Phonological awareness can be enhanced through targeted questions, such as, "What do you get if you put together the sounds d-o-g?" and "What are the first and last sounds in the word 'dance'?"
Teachers can help struggling readers acquire greater fluency by modeling fluent reading. Show your student how to use phrase boundaries, and demonstrate the importance of tone, emphasis and pacing. Have your students create groups to read together aloud, pairing more advanced with less proficient readers.
Instructional reading is one way to help struggling readers expand their vocabularies. Partner with the student to take turns reading aloud, gauging comprehension by asking the student to explain the meanings of words and to state his understanding of the selection. Provide a list of words you wish the student to notice prior to reading the passage.
Teach struggling readers to prepare by making goals for what they want to learn from their reading. For example, they can write a list of questions such as "What is the author's main point?" "What happens to the central character?" and "Where does this story take place?" Show them how to take notes, writing down unfamiliar words. Explain how to use the organization of text – sentences, paragraphs and chapters – to understand the author's intentions.