Differentiation
How do I support struggling readers in any subject?
Support struggling readers by pre-teaching key vocabulary, chunking text, modeling annotation, providing a purpose for reading, and offering audio or leveled versions of the text.
You can support struggling readers in any subject without slowing the whole class, using a few high-leverage moves:
- Pre-teach the 3–5 key terms before students hit them in the text, so vocabulary isn't the wall.
- Chunk the text into smaller sections with a quick task after each, rather than one long passage.
- Give a purpose for reading ("find two causes of…") so students read actively, not passively.
- Model annotation — circle unknown words, underline main ideas — and let them keep the marked-up copy.
- Offer access options: an audio version, a leveled text on the same topic, or a partner read.
None of these change what students learn — they change how they get in. A differentiation tool can generate the leveled version and the supports so you're not rewriting the text by hand.
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