“When Young Readers Get Stuck”
Nell Duke (Educational Leadership, November 2020)
As a reading specialist who works with teachers to support students in need of a variety of “on-ramp” reading support, I have found the article, “When Young Readers Get Stuck,” to offer the quickest, most effective way to adjust instruction and, in turn, student progress. In this article, Nell Duke reminds us to quiet the noise of purchases, programs, and promises. “There’s an art — and a science — to providing prompts for young readers when they struggle.” Duke helps teachers, interventionists, and leaders of emergent readers notice the complexities of learning as well as beginning readers’ skills and strategies in order to plan for the most effective ways to nudge students forward. The article provides figures and tables outlining the exact reading behaviors to notice and the prompting language to use for both word identification and comprehension monitoring.
This flexible approach is grounded in research, adjusted with observation, and proven effective regardless of the instructor or resources available at any given school. If you or someone you know work with emergent readers, this is a must-read to make an immediate impact on learners today for accelerated progress and independence in reading tomorrow.
This article appears in the Spring 2025 issue of Kappan, Vol. 106, No. 5-6, p. 8.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer Barone
Jennifer Barone is a reading specialist with Glastonbury Public Schools, Glastonbury, Connecticut, and an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut.
