What Are the Different Materials Used in Remedial Reading?

Reading is one of the most important skills that students acquire throughout their education. If children struggle with reading, they will begin to have difficulties in other subject areas as they progress through school. Since reading skills are linked to achievement levels and success beyond school, remedial programs have been put in place to help struggling readers across grade levels. There are a number of materials that can be used to assist in remedial reading instruction.

Students in the elementary grades who need remedial reading instruction may have problems understanding phonics. Explicit phonics instruction can help these students better understand the relationships between letters and sounds. Easel style or table top magnetic chalk or whiteboards are a valuable tool that aide in letter and word work activities by giving students a chance to practice letter formation and to write words using dry erase markers. These tools also allow students to form and change words using magnetic letters.

Some remedial readers have trouble with gaining meaning from and understanding text they read. The use of colored dot stickers can help students become more active readers and form a better understanding of text. Using a different color for each strategy, students place a dot above text where they used reading strategies like visualizing, summarizing, and making inferences and connections. Rainbow dots can also be used for strategies such as questioning, rereading, and using context clues.

Secondary school-aged students in remedial reading are often intimidated when presented with text written in small print. Seeing a lot of words on a page can overwhelm a struggling reader before he has even attempted to read it. Books and other reading materials with large print are often used with remedial reading students. If large-print materials are not available, teachers can reconstruct difficult text to incorporate and mimic the structure of lower-level materials. While recreating materials can be time consuming, it is beneficial because it can help boost the confidence of struggling readers.

Providing a variety of reading materials to students who need remedial instruction can be helpful in sparking interest and empowering them in choosing what they read. Some remedial readers do not benefit from standard textbooks and may do better with magazine articles or information from approved online sources. Giving remedial readers more choices, especially literature that peaks their interest, can also help build confidence and willingness to read.