You’re probably thinking…duh.
I’m serious
When it comes to reading, you have your BIG
5 skills:  on a cliffhanger. Cue student objections.
Phonemic Awareness– hearing, identifying,
and manipulating sounds
Phonics– the connection between letters and
their sounds
Vocabulary– words related to a specific text
or topic
Fluency– the ability at which a student reads
a text with limited errors and expression
Comprehension– the ability of a student to
understand what was read 
All of these combine in some form or fashion
to create our reading instruction. Reading
intervention can be specific to one of
those BIG 5 or it can be general strategies you
apply. Keep reading for 17 general
strategies you can use TODAY for reading
intervention. Be sure to check out #2, #5, #11,
and #13! Those are my tried and true favorites
from seven years of teaching.
Strategy #1 READ
though, READ. Read as much as possible.
Expose your students to a wide variety of
texts and read for fun! Not all reading has to
be tied down with comprehension questions
and activities.   Read multiple times
during the day if possible, not just in a whole
group reading. My 3rd graders LOVED when
I read to them at the end of the day, right
before dismissal. I’d read our “fun” chapter
book for just a couple of minutes (so the bus
riders didn’t miss out) and ALWAYS stopped
 
Strategy #2 MODEL…and use Read
Alouds
You’d think teachers worked for New York
Fashion Week with as much as we model. It
works though. If we want our students to
become good readers, we need to model what
good reading looks like. Through read alouds
we can show expression, appropriate speed
(rate), and the joy reading can bring. 
#3 Rewards
Kids love rewards. Big or small, they’ll go
crazy to earn a little trinket. Set up a sticker
chart and when they meet their goal, they earn
a sticker. Goals don’t have to be based on
perfection but
on EFFORT or COMPLETION. We’re
building an intrinsic love of reading. If you
always focus on perfection, you’ll extinguish
their desire to try. Fill up their chart and they
can turn it in for a small treat. Here are a few
ideas:
 mini eraser
 new pencil
 big sticker
 reading time with the teacher
 change their name for the day
By using little rewards for effort and
completion, we’re slowly building their love
of reading and willingness to try (or fail).
#4 Routines. Routines. Routines.  
Teachers aren’t the only ones who THRIVE
off routines. Students crave it, whether they
tell you or not. For most students, the
classroom is the ONLY place where they can
count on each day being somewhat the same.
This goes with reading instruction as well. If
you’re working with a small group, this might
look like using the same warm-up every day.
If the student knows what to expect, they can
focus more on the actual skill rather than
worrying what will be done that day. Here are
a few ideas for some easy warm-
ups: alphabet flashcards, quick
reads, sound cards, picture walks through
books, and sight word sorts.       set of words to try independently.
Strategy #5 Get Your Head in the Game!
Who doesn’t love games? Kids go nuts for
games! I gathered a few games and ETTC
activities that you can incorporate into your
reading instruction (both whole group and
small group):
 Digital Word Cards
 Digital Reading Comprehension Strips
 Phonics Write and Wipe Puzzles
 No Prep Phonics Booklets
 Any of our Literacy Centers!– Year-long
reading centers that you can utilize
during your guided reading instruction!
(Link is for the Kinder set.)
 Bananagrams
Sight Word Swat
 Sentence Builders
Strategy #6 Direct Instruction (I do, We do,
You do)
What do we use when teaching a new skill?
Direct Instruction. The same goes for working
with small groups of students too. Direct
Instruction is HUGE for our reading
intervention. I know there’s a time and place
for exploration and discovery, I’m not
referring to those moments. Do you want your
student to improve on segmenting words? Try
the “I do, we do, you do.” Show them how,
do a couple with them, then give them a new
 
#7 SeeSaw (or another tech)
I am sure you’re all feeling a bit “tech-ed out”
this year but it can be a useful tool when it
comes to reading intervention. I love using
SeeSaw to assign passages to differentiated
reading groups. My students liked how they
could listen to themselves and assess their
own fluency, or expression. For younger
students, there are many apps you can use to
focus on different reading skills. Check out
our Top 10 Amazing Apps blog with some
great ideas!
 #8 Student Choice and Teacher Choice
This strategy includes having a balance
between books the teacher chooses and books
the student chooses for small group
instruction. If the teacher is the only one
choosing the books, the student can lose
interest and disengage from the text. If it
means more to the student, they’re likely to be
more interested in the reading skill.
Strategy #9 Spice it Up (use a variety of
texts)
Do you rely solely on textbooks or only utilize
read-alouds? If so, spice it up and use a
variety of texts. Students need access to a
variety of texts; textbooks, real books, and
even passages. All serve a purpose in your
reading instruction.
Strategy #10 Independent & Instructional
When you’re having students read, are they
reading on their independent, instructional,
or frustration level? If a student is reading at
their independent level, they’re reading with
95-100% accuracy. So, out of 100 words they
are missing 5 or less. At this level, a student
can read without the support and should have
a good understanding of the text. At
their instructional level, they are reading
with 90-94% accuracy. Once they drop below
90% accuracy they enter
the frustration level. We want students to
stay within
their independent and instructional levels.
Spend too much time in their frustration level
and a student will lose confidence. Need a
quick way to find their levels? Check out
the San Diego Quick Assessment. 
#11 Build Confidence
 FEEDBACK. When was the last time
you received specific feedback? Not
just a “good job,” or a “nice work,” but
an actual comment geared toward your
growth as an educator? Probably not
often enough if I had to take a guess
but when you get those comments,
doesn’t it give you a HUGE boost of
confidence? The same thing goes for
our students. Sure, a “good job” is nice,
but if you want them to grow and
become a more confident
reader, SPECIFIC FEEDBACK is key.
Here are a few examples of specific
feedback tied to a growth goal:
 “I see how you tracked your words with
your finger/pointer! Good Job!”
 “You paused after each punctuation
mark, excellent!”
 “I noticed that you chunked that word
into smaller parts to help you decode it!”
 “Wow! You read that passage so
smoothly!”
 “I see you read for 2 minutes without
stopping, keep up the good work!”
#12 Reading Buddies!
How many of you listen to Podcasts or enjoy
listening to books on Audible? There’s
something so enjoyable about listening to
others read. Take this idea and incorporate it
into your reading instruction with Reading
Buddies! Connect with a teacher a few grades
above you and pair up your students. Once a
week or so, meet up and let your students read
to one another. The younger student can read
a book they’re comfortable with while the
older buddy reads a picture book. This allows
the younger student to build their confidence
in reading and the older student to model
fluency and expression! 
Strategy #13 Finger Pointers
Is your student tired of tracking text as they
read? Throw in a fun finger pointer.
Sometimes all a student needs is a new tool.
I’ve collected some witch fingers and googly-
eyed pointers from Target over the years and
my students love them (and even name them).
Here are a few links to some or take a trip to
Target :
 Witch Fingers
Googly-Eyed Pointers
Hand2Mind Finger Focus  reading spot, and then start the timer. Each
Guided Reading Strips
Finger pointers or strips, not your style? No
worries, grab some stickers and put one on
their finger. Boom.
#14 Partner Up and Teach 
Working on a new skill? Why not try
partnering up your higher students with some
of your struggling readers and let the students
be the teacher. This idea is similar to Reading
Buddies in that you’re pairing up the
students. Here you are able to focus more on
the skills you’re teaching in reading, whether
it be a new phonics skill, reading strategy, or
other skill.  phonics chants/dances you can incorporate
Strategy #15 Goal Setting with the Student
Does a student need support with fluency?
Maybe they struggle with determining the
meaning of unknown words. Whatever it is,
try goal setting with the student. Pull them
aside and talk with them. Ask them what they
feel is their area for improvement. Jot it down
on a sticky note for them (check these out on
TpT) and let them hold on to it. When they
meet the goal, celebrate it! Giving them
control over their goals makes it more
meaningful.
#16 Build Stamina
For some students, their frustration is simply
because they don’t have the reading stamina.
Building it can take some time, but totally
worth it. Start small, I’m talking 2 minutes.
Let the student(s) self select a book, find a
day, increase the time in small increments. Let
the student(s) track their time and see their
stamina increase! Check out this tracker from
Create-Abilities on TpT!
#17 Get Your Body Movin’ (and theirs)
Have you heard of Whole Brain Teaching?
WBT is a fast-growing teaching movement
involving lots of action through call/response,
mirror words, hand motions, and lots of
student engagement. The goal here is to get
the students teaching, putting the focus on
them and owning their learning. Visit
the Whole Brain Teaching website to learn
more! Aside from WBT, there are numerous
into your instruction as well. Check
out Phonics Dancing Across the
Classroom for some fun resources!