I’ve worked with struggling readers in 1-3 grade for the past couple of years. It’s a wonderful thing to see the light shine as they finally get something. It takes time, that’s for sure.

I have used the Michael Heggerty program which is a quick (15 minutes or so) daily shot of phonics, phoneme, blending, etc. I would highly recommend it. The kids love the activities and it’s very interactive. Even for the kids who don’t participate on some days, they are still hearing it and it works really well. I’ve given you a link to his website.

Just maintain your excitement about reading and don’t give up. You will save some of these kids from a lifetime struggle with reading. What you are doing is critical and important.

One comment and you can email me as I taught elem for years including first, 85% of kids will learn to read with a phonetic approach, the others never will !!!!!!! So I tried a sight approach and they took off like wildfire, their parents thought I had done a miracle but I only reached the way they learn. I think with this group, any taste of success to instill self confidence instead of criticism would be the best thing even if they learn to read slowly etc. if you destroy their love of learnig by pumeling them as SOME teachers do, you have killed something that often can never be regained. So the love of learning is first. Go slow, they are babes,they really are.Think of something you have a very hard time with and then you can “be “with them emotionally 🙂 Good luck I hope you get tons of good answers

To be able to read one needs to be able to identify words. Before you ask students read it maybe an idea to devote 15 minutes to word flash card games whereby students try to read the word you show on the flash card. The students are given the card as a score if they are able to read.At the end of the game you then allow the students to read the passage in pairs,ensure that you pair a good reader with someone that is not so.this interaction will allow them to learn from each other.The rest of the time you have you bring the group together and ask them to read a line each and conclude by everybody reading together. For homework give some questions for them to work on to check if they had comprehend. you can also contact patents and ask them to help their child at home and ensure that you keep them informed of their child’s progress at a regular basis.

I am in the same boat you are, only our first grade team did not divide the classes up. I just have a pretty low group. I also teach in the inner city and the kids have little if any parental involvement. I am going to star your question and see what ideas you get. GOOD question.