Teachers Parents Kids Administrators Librarians Reading Club Book Fairs

Get Answers

If my second graders can't understand the grade-level texts in the reading program we use, much less the words, how can I help them access increasingly complex texts?

Many teachers are facing a challenge like yours. Here, Dr. Maria Walther, a first-grade teacher and author who has been honored as the Illinois Reading Educator of the Year, offers some advice:

Dear Colleague,

Clearly, you are a teacher who knows your learners and cares about their success. From what you’ve written, it sounds like your reading program is not meeting the needs of your young readers. I’m guessing that your daily schedule is already jam-packed, and it's challenging to add one more thing. Here are three ideas that won’t take a lot of extra time and will support your striving readers as they move toward reading independently and comprehending increasingly complex texts.


Reading aloud is such an integral part of my daily instruction that my students and I keep a read-aloud tally (pictured below), using one tally mark for each read-aloud experience. The essential literacy practice of reading aloud is also endorsed by the authors of the Common Core's ELA Standards in Appendix A (p. 27): “By reading a story or nonfiction selection aloud, teachers allow children to experience written language without the burden of decoding, granting them access to content that they may not be able to read and understand by themselves. Children are then free to focus their mental energy on the words and ideas presented in the text, and they will eventually be better prepared to tackle rich written content on their own."


Select read-aloud titles that extend the themes found in your reading program and focus on the Standards. For example, when studying characters, read books like Dex: The Heart of a Hero (Buehner, 2007) and Cloudette (Lichtenheld, 2011) to spark a discussion about how Dex and Cloudette respond to the challenges they each face (Standard 3). Ask students to use key details from the text (Standard 1) to support their thinking. Then compare and contrast (Standard 9) the two stories. Don’t forget to read aloud informational texts too!


3. Provide your students with ample time for “high-success” independent reading. Reading researcher Dick Allington tells us that children are engaged in high-success reading when they can read the text with 98 percent accuracy or better (2013). Some sure-fire hits for your students reading at a first grade level are Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie books. If you partner kids and have them take turns reading Elephant and Piggie’s hilarious dialogue, you will also be helping them work on recognizing different points of view (Standard 6). Another series that kids can't resist is Tedd Arnold’s Fly Guy books. Voluminous, high-success reading builds fluency (Foundational Standard 4) and, more important, confidence and enjoyment!

Let me assure you that these research-proven strategies will make a difference for your readers. Be patient, and trust your professional decisions. After all, our goal as primary grade teachers is to cultivate avid readers not teach a reading program.

Best wishes,






Where can I find the Common Core Standards for kindergarten?


What should I tell parents about the Common Core?






English Language Arts/Reading





What themes should be covered in seventh-grade literature?
























Is the Magic School Bus series aligned to the Common Core?


Is The Kite Runner appropriate for ninth graders?




How do I introduce close reading to my second graders?




How can I help my fourth graders develop their vocabulary?








Do you have lessons for teaching sentence structure?




Could you give me some additional information about Scope magazine?










Content Areas

Where can I find the Common Core Standards for science?




Could you suggest activities for teaching ecosystems to third graders?






Can you recommend books about Latino and American Indian cultures?


Learning Support

Will PARCC provide modifications for inclusion special ed students?






What activities for struggling students incorporate The Hunger Games or Halloween?


Where can I find Common Core Standards for special education students?












How do I teach persuasive writing?
