Definition of Reading Intervention

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Reading intervention is a program, supplementary to an existing literacy curriculum, that is provided to students for the primary purpose of increasing reading levels. Such programs can be administered both in and out of the traditional classroom environment.

1 Language Barriers

Students who speak other languages (especially as their primary language) often need assistance with fluency and phonemic awareness.

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2 Speed and Fluency

Intervention can help increase students' reading speed, giving them tools to read faster while retaining larger chunks of information. Fluency also refers to the ability to read smoothly and efficiently.

3 Comprehension

Understanding the text is imperative to reading success. Intervention programs offer strategies for students to improve their overall grasp of the content.

4 Vocabulary

Most supplemental reading programs aim to build a student's vocabulary.

5 Types of Programs

Intervention programs include reading courses, tutoring, changes in the teacher's instructional delivery, alternate texts (including audio and visual texts) and computer reading programs.

6 How Students Are Identified

Subject-area teachers usually recommend students for intervention programs or special courses based on a battery of assessments and the students' performance in a subject area.

Based in the Northeast, Tonya Abari is a writer/editor and traveling humanities teacher (she teaches child entertainers on film/TV sets). Abari received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland at College Park in English/English education and also has an MBA.

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