Secondary Reading: Strengthening Intervention Through Comprehension

About the Webinar:

Based on the transcript, here’s a summary for your website:

This practical session addressed the critical challenge of improving reading comprehension for struggling secondary students, with Tessa Shuler and Meghann Van Hise from Just Read, Florida! providing evidence-based strategies and resources for effective intervention. The presenters emphasized that while secondary reading instruction has historically focused heavily on decoding skills, true reading proficiency requires a balanced approach that develops both foundational skills and higher-level comprehension abilities. They explained the essential components of reading comprehension—including background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, and literacy knowledge—and demonstrated how educators can systematically build these competencies through explicit instruction and strategic scaffolding. The session highlighted the importance of using diagnostic assessments to identify specific areas of need, then targeting instruction to address individual student gaps while simultaneously building the deep knowledge and thinking skills necessary for success with complex texts.

Shuler and Van Hise shared actionable classroom strategies and instructional frameworks that teachers can implement immediately to strengthen comprehension, including techniques for teaching vocabulary in context, building background knowledge through content-rich curriculum, explicitly teaching text structures and comprehension strategies, and engaging students in meaningful discussion and writing about texts. The presenters introduced participants to valuable resources available through Just Read, Florida!, including intervention guidance documents, professional learning modules, and alignment tools that help educators select appropriate materials and monitor student progress. They emphasized that effective secondary reading intervention requires a coordinated approach involving content-area teachers working together to reinforce literacy skills across disciplines, combined with intensive targeted support for students with significant deficits. Attendees left equipped with frameworks, resources, and practical techniques to help their struggling secondary readers develop into proficient, confident learners capable of accessing grade-level content.