Episode 322: How to Support Struggling Readers Without Neglecting the Rest of Your Class

If you have a handful of students who need intensive phonics intervention, a few who are reading well above grade level, and everyone else somewhere in the middle, you might be wondering: How am I supposed to meet all of these needs without burning myself out?

The good news is that meeting every student's needs doesn't mean giving every student the exact same support.

In this episode, Sara is breaking down how to support your struggling readers while still making sure the rest of your class is getting meaningful, appropriately challenging literacy instruction. She shares a helpful doctor analogy that reminds us that different students need different types of support—and that different doesn't mean unfair.

You'll also hear practical ways to strengthen your Tier 1 instruction, use partner work to support all learners, make the most of your intervention time, and plan meaningful work for the rest of your class while you're meeting with small groups.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why meeting every student's needs doesn't mean giving every student the exact same support
• Why not every student needs to meet with you in a small group
• How explicit Tier 1 instruction can better support struggling readers before intervention even begins
• How partner routines like RallyCoach can provide struggling readers with support while deepening learning for stronger readers
• A simple five-day intervention framework for making the most of your small group time
• How to plan meaningful literacy work for the rest of your class while you're providing intervention
• Why it's okay for your intervention students and the rest of your class to be working on completely different assignments

If you're feeling overwhelmed trying to fit every student into a small group or make sure everyone completes the same work, this episode will help you rethink what effective support can look like. Your job isn't to give every student the exact same thing—it's to figure out what each student needs and provide the instruction that will help them grow.

Resources Mentioned:

⭐ The Stellar Reading Intervention Kit: Stellarteacher.com/intervention