What should struggling readers be doing?

I recently read an article by Richard Allington which resonated deeply with what I believe to be true about students who struggle with reading.  Here are some points that Allington makes in the article. 

Where do you stand with these ideas?  What can you do to help the struggling readers that you work with?

Why are so many students failing to read? 

• Worksheets and isolated lessons targeting specific skill deficits are particularly low-impact.
• Struggling readers are often asked to read texts that are too difficult, versus the high-success texts that will accelerate their reading growth and confidence. Reading at the frustration level is counterproductive.
• Students don’t spend nearly enough time silently reading texts they select themselves. Research shows that silent, self-selected reading is a powerful driver of improvement.
• Struggling readers spend much more time than proficient peers sitting through round-robin reading and filling out worksheets, both of which have been shown to be low-gain activities. “If we want to foster reading development, then we must design lessons that provide the opportunities for struggling readers to actually read,” says Allington.

What is to be done? Flipping each of these ineffective practices results in a far stronger reading program with these qualities:

• Using a balanced, eclectic approach to decoding linked to writing and comprehension;
• Matching struggling students with texts that they can read with at least 98 percent word recognition accuracy and 90 percent comprehension;
• Maximizing silent reading of texts that students select themselves – during school hours and in the evenings, weekends, and vacations, especially the summer; struggling readers should leave school each day with at least one book they can read and that they want to read;
• Using effective teaching practices that get all students involved in reading and writing as much as possible; struggling readers should read and write more each day than proficient readers, says Allington.  

“What Really Matters When Working with Struggling Readers” by Richard Allington in The Reading Teacher, April 2013 (Vol. 66, #7, p. 520-530)