Tween
Reading Strategies and Book Suggestions for Struggling Readers
by Melissa Taylor
How can you help an older child who struggles with reading? How can you engage, or re-engage them, after they’ve grown frustrated? Here you’ll find helpful strategies plus lots of great book suggestions that are at a lower reading level yet still interesting to kids.
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Strategies to Help Struggling Readers
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Assess Reading
Reading is a complex process. That’s why diagnosing the specific struggle for your child is so important. You can ask your public schools to test your child or get an outside-of-school evaluation. Ask your pediatrician or school to recommended a qualified specialist. [See: 7 Signs Your Child May Have a Reading Issue]Find In-School Support
If you don’t already have documentation, start the process at school to document your child’s reading difficulties and need for extra support.Also, advocate for direct reading instruction. (Frequently, classrooms switch from “learn to read” to “read to learn” by the upper elementary grades which can leave struggling readers behind.)
Get Out-of-School Support
Find a qualified tutor or a special reading intervention class.Consider a brain-based intervention, like at Brain Highways, that works on underdeveloped parts of the brain that affect reading and writing.
Teach Skills & Strategies
Teach and reteach phonics, decoding, comprehension, tracking, and fluency. Instruction and practice need to be frequent and explicit. It’s worth mentioning that worksheets and apps are only beneficial for practice and rarely actually teach reading. [See: 8 Ways to Help Kids Understand What They Read]Read ‘Just Right’ Books
Kids are more successful reading a book in which they know most of the words. Show your child how to know when a book is “just right” for them. [See: What Is a ‘Just Right’ Book?]Give Choices
Struggling readers aren’t usually motivated to read. Provide some incentive by giving your child a choice of which books to read.Give Kids Interesting Books
Kids want to read interesting books with relatable characters and topics. In addition to fiction novels, consider nonfiction, magazines, poetry, blogs, and graphic novels. Check out our book suggestions below for ideas.Make Reading Fun
When learning is unpleasant, learning doesn’t happen. Find ideas to make reading comfortable and enjoyable here. [See: 6 Tips to Make Reading Fun, Not Frustrating]Social kids might like a book club. Not to worry, if your book club is reading a difficult book, simply read the book to your child or find it on audiobook.
At home, it can be beneficial and fun to try to echo read and take turns reading. Echo reading means you read a line first and the child echoes you. Don’t forget to point to each word with your finger as you read it.
Encourage a Growth Mindset
Celebrate effort. Help your child see the connection between how effort leads to growth. If this connection is not happening, reassess that the efforts are being made in the right area — are the interventions the best ones? Is the tutor the best choice? Are the books “just right”?
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Engaging Books for Struggling Readers
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Often called “high-low” or “hi-lo,” here is a list of engaging books that are highly interesting with lower reading levels. What’s more, none look like “baby” books, a big concern for most struggling readers.
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I Survived Series
Action packed from page one, this series transports readers into the heart of major historical events, as seen through the eyes of a kid like them.
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Big Nate Series
Funny comics about Nate’s life in sixth grade including sports, detention, and schoolwork will entertain your kids for hours.
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Wayside School Series
Laugh-out-loud stories about kids at a crazy school.
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Bad Kitty Series
Bad Kitty’s naughty antics will crack you up no matter which adventure you’re on. Great illustrations throughout.
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Zita the Space Girl Series
Zita’s a space-traveling heroine to admire in these beautifully imagined graphic novels.
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Roberto & Me
With the help of a baseball card Stosh travels into the past in the hopes of saving famed player Roberto Clemente from a deadly plane crash.
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Nick and Tesla Series
Living with their Uncle Newt, these super smart 11-year-old twins are always finding inventions to create and mysteries to solve. Great for STEM fans.
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The Kicks Series
Seventh grade soccer player, Devin, and her teammates navigate the tricky world of growing up, friendship, and competition in this series of books by superstar soccer player Alex Morgan.
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Beast Quest Series
An evil wizard has turned the magical beasts (dragons, giants, minotaur, and others) against the kingdom. Now it’s up to Tom to fight the beasts and save the kingdom.
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Bird and Squirrel Series
Irresistible and hilarious, these graphic novels star Bird and Squirrel, two lovable and wacky friends who are always getting into trouble.
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The Notebook of Doom Series
In this suspenseful and humorous book, Alexander discovers that his new town is full of monsters. Luckily, he finds an old notebook that can help.
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Diary of a Minecraft Zombie Series
Fans of Minecraft will love this funny first-person narrative from a zombie who is just trying to make friends and live his regular life.
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Stick Dog Series
Our narrator, Tom, draws stick-figure illustrations to depict Stick Dog and his amusing adventures.
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Weird but True Series
Fantastic photographs accompany wild, bite-sized facts that will astonish readers.
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The Carver Chronicles Series
Each book in the series features the story of a boy from Carver Elementary. Whether it’s navigating a new school or staying out of trouble, there’s always something going on.
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Further Reading & Resources:
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- “Never a Dull Moment: The action-packed world of hi/lo books,” School Library Journal
- “Struggling Readers,” ASCD
What other books or resources would you recommend for kids who struggle with reading? Let us know in the comments below.