It is important for at-risk students to involve their parents in the literacy process. Create themed literacy bags for children to take home to their parents. Children can take turns taking the different bags home. In the bag, include a note for parents that asks them to go through the contents of the bag with their child. Have a fiction and non-fiction book for parents to read to their children. In a plastic baggie, place the supplies needed to create a craft that goes along with the bag's theme. Do not assume that at-risk students have craft supplies at home. Include everything they will need to complete the craft with their parents. Keep a notebook in the literacy bag that allows parents to write any comments or feedback they might have.
When children see how a book relates to them, they will enjoy reading. To help children make these connections, allow them to draw pictures on a connections chart. Create a worksheet that has three separate sections: text-to-text, text-to-world and text-to-self. After children read a passage, have them draw pictures on their chart that demonstrate the connections they feel to a text. For instance, if a character has divorced parents, and the child does, too, she might draw a picture of a broken heart in the text-to-self column. Students should think of how the piece relates to other books they have read in the text-to-text column and how the piece relates to things in the world around them in the text-to-world column.
Children love to color and usually enjoy working with markers such as highlighters. Before students read a new piece of material, give them highlighters. While they are reading, ask them to highlight any passages that do not make sense to them or any words that they do not know. When they are done reading, they can look up words in the dictionary or ask any questions they have.
As students are reading a new passage, have them stick Post-it notes next to paragraphs or ideas that they have questions about. They can write their thoughts or questions on the Post-it notes so that they can remember them later when they are discussing the piece as a class.