IF YOU TEACH - YOU TEACH READING

Currently, schools are under pressure to reform their curriculum and instructional practices so that all students can perform successfully on high-stakes test. One essential requisite skill for success on all of these assessments is reading. Because the classroom is typically made up of students who exhibit a broad range of performance levels, it can be quite challenging for even the most experienced classroom teacher to successfully teach the content to all students. Research has revealed that when explicit, teacher-directed strategy instruction is used students make significant gains in their reading skills. This paper examines the challenges that content area teachers face in addressing the academic needs of all learners and provides some specific strategies that have been proven effective in the inclusive classroom.