Don’t Let Struggling Readers Sink: How the Right Kind of Tutoring Helps Them Thrive

Hoping a struggling reader will “catch up” on their own is like expecting someone who can't swim to keep up with a boat. Without the correct support, they won’t just fall behind—they’ll sink.  

So, what is the proper support to lift students who are not acquiring reading and writing skills at the expected rate? Students who struggle with developing reading, or those with dyslexia, need a direct, explicit, and systematic approach to reading and writing instruction, known as Structured Literacy, a term coined by the International Dyslexia Association^®, which embodies the key elements of essential reading instruction grounded in research. It is an umbrella term for those successful approaches to reading instruction, including Orton-Gillingham. While Structured Literacy benefits students when used in foundational core reading instruction, it is essential when working with students in a tutoring session.

This comprehensive approach integrates language, reading, and writing instruction to support reading proficiency. At the core, Structured Literacy focuses equally on the what (components of instruction) and the how (essential principles of instruction) to provide educators with a guide to effective reading instruction. The components of instruction include phoneme-grapheme correspondences (phoneme awareness and linkages between sounds and letter representations), morphemes (word elements such as affixes and base words), syllables and stress patterns, and orthographic conventions (spelling concepts), in addition to comprehension components such as vocabulary and background knowledge, sentence structure/grammar, text structure, and critical thinking. These components are all delivered through direct and systematic instruction that is explicit, cumulative, multimodal, and mastery-oriented, encompassing the essential principles of instruction. It is much more than “phonics,” and tutoring sessions should reflect this. Structured Literacy throws students a life raft and teaches them to navigate the waters of reading confidently. 

View the Structured Literacy Infomap from the International Dyslexia Association.  Structured Literacy Infomap. 

Backed by decades of research about best instructional practices, a Structured Literacy approach should be the foundation for reading tutoring, providing a clear framework for effective instruction. Whether done in small groups or individually, this approach offers the intensity and individual focus struggling students require.

These tips will help get you started with reading interventions and tutoring to ensure your instruction is research-backed and impactful. 

Top Tips for Effective Structured Literacy Tutoring:

1. Assess to Address: When working with students in reading tutoring, it is essential to understand what the student knows and where challenges are occurring to drive instruction. Collect data in multiple ways, including formative and summative assessments, performance-based tasks, and observations. Students needing tutoring or intervention often have gaps in foundational skills and need targeted instruction to address these deficits. Knowing what skills your student has and still needs provides you with an instructional path and the knowledge to differentiate and focus on mastery-oriented learning.
2. Focus on Sequential Instruction: Lessons should take a systematic approach, teaching the structure of the language, starting with the simplest elements and progressing to more complex elements in a thoughtful and sequential sequence. While no one agreed-upon order of skill introduction exists, educators should follow a progressively logical sequence. Evidence-based programs like LINKS to Literacy ™ and REWARDS^® follow a clear Scope and Sequence. (LETRS^® provides a suggested Scope and Sequence as well.) Therefore, learning is not left to chance in this approach; concepts are introduced through explicit instruction, building on complexities over time. 
3. Explicitly Teach Phonics But Connect the Skills: Time in tutoring sessions is precious. An effective way to address multiple skills and create stronger connections is to intentionally integrate phonemes (sounds), reading (decoding), spelling (encoding), and handwriting. Teach phonics explicitly, following a structured sequence, focusing on linking or mapping the phoneme (sound) to the grapheme (letter or letter representations). For example, when learning the sound /p/, students would also learn the letter name <p>, the articulatory gestures (the manner of how the sound is made in the mouth, etc.), how to form the letter (either in print or cursive), and then apply that new learning to the reading and spelling of words with <p>. This intentional integration provides students with multiple opportunities to connect the new learning to previously learned concepts through sequential instruction.
4. Teach syllable and stress patterns: As students learn about the structure of language, teaching phonics and syllable structure, including syllable types, accent or stress within words, and strategies for decoding multisyllabic words, makes reading more manageable for students and removes guessing. Read more about syllable awareness and patterns in this EDVIEW360 blog post.
5. Start Morphology Early: Embed prefixes, suffixes, and root words from the start. Morphology is a crucial part of Structured Literacy lessons that teachers should introduce early within the Scope and Sequence. From the beginning, we want students to understand words carry meaning, and morphology is a great way to help students deepen their understanding of language. Morphemes can be single letters or units of letters that carry meaning. For example, the suffix -s can indicate plurals, such as cats and dogs. The pronunciation shifts of the suffix -s rest in the awareness of the base word (cat, dog), and if the final sound in the base word is voiced or unvoiced (/t/ is unvoiced, resulting in suffix -s read as /s/, and /g/ is voiced resulting in suffix -s read as /z/) highlighting the connection to the integrated knowledge of phonemes and articulatory gestures. Explicit instruction of morphological elements should be included within the sequential Scope and Sequence. Read this EDVIEW360 blog for more information about morphology.  
6. Include Intentional and Cumulative Review: Instruction for students struggling with reading acquisition cannot be a “one-and-done” approach. Intentional and frequent review of previously taught concepts must be part of the tutoring session. Research in the area of how we learn shows that review plays an important role in moving learning to our long-term memory. Students in tutoring should review concepts in each lesson, especially areas not yet mastered (often the phoneme-grapheme correspondences, spelling applications, etc.). Starting a lesson with a review of the alphabet, graphemes (letter/s), and phonemes (sounds) previously learned is an easy way to build in review and set the stage for new learning. 
7. Personalized Instruction: The guiding principles of Structured Literacy require teachers to be adept at differentiating and individualizing instruction based on careful and continuous informal and formal assessment. As educators, we aim to constantly move student learning forward and determine when to adapt a lesson based on student progress or observation. Implementing the “I-do, We-do, You-do” gradual release model is a keystone of this work, because students in tutoring will need additional support, practice, and clarification. This diagnostic and prescriptive approach allows you, the teacher, to observe and note (diagnostic) where a student’s understanding breaks down and makes a plan to prescribe or address the need in the moment and future lessons. It is at the heart of reading tutoring. 
8. Engage the Multiple Learning Pathways: Use a multimodal approach (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) that engages multiple learning pathways. When you implement integrated instruction, you are engaging a multimodal, or multisensory, approach linking sounds (auditory), letters, and letter patterns (visual) to sound production and articulatory gestures (kinesthetic-motor) and handwriting (kinesthetic-motor). Intentionally integrating multimodal experiences within the lesson supports memory and learning of both oral and written language skills (Farrell & White, 2018) and makes lessons highly interactive.
9. Practice, Practice, Practice: Students in tutoring need ample opportunities for guided and independent practice within the lesson while you monitor and provide targeted prompt feedback. Learning a new skill takes time, and for some students, the amount of practice required to apply new learning will be significant. Our lessons should provide repetition in linking speech sounds to their letter representations (phoneme-grapheme correspondences), letter formation, reading, and spelling with constant monitoring and teaching. We want students to gain automaticity and mastery of skills, and therefore, the practice and application of taught skills to become permanent shouldn't be overlooked or brushed over. Instead, they should be a meaningful part of each lesson. LINKS to Literacy™ intensifies instruction to provide students with extra practice, time on task, and opportunities for individualized feedback. Learn more about how the 30-lesson program can help students meet or exceed grade-level expectations.
10. Mastery Matters: Ensure students achieve mastery before progressing. As you implement your lessons, constantly monitoring how you provide instruction within all components should be at the forefront. Our lessons should be teacher-led, with students actively engaged in the learning process and planned and purposeful instructional decisions driving the lesson. 
    

Every struggling reader deserves more than just staying afloat—they deserve the skills and confidence to thrive. Structured Literacy tutoring provides the explicit, systematic support they need to not only catch up but excel. With the right instruction, patience, and encouragement, we can turn struggling readers into confident, successful learners. Let’s give them the tools to successfully navigate the waters of reading!