On the content side, reading comprehension improves when ELA includes science and social studies concepts, they say. Other research-backed strategies for K-4 reading success include:

Building word recognition and language comprehension skills simultaneously.
Using sets of texts that contain overlapping words and related concepts.
Allowing teachers to choose from a menu of evidence-backed approaches rather than making them follow a specific protocol.
Designing ELA curriculum and assessments that progress toward more complex subject matter while avoiding repetition.
Using formative assessments to group and regroup students by skill level.
Literacy coaching and sustained PD amplify the impact of curriculum interventions and help educators translate reading research into classroom practice.
Tutoring is an effective Tier 2 intervention for students who are struggling with Tier 1 core instruction.

One study of “varied practice reading,” for example, demonstrated that students who read multiple texts containing similar words developed fluency more quickly than students who read the same text repeatedly. Students also made larger gains in vocabulary and comprehension when they independently read conceptually coherent texts on a single topic for several days rather than reading a wider variety of texts. Additional research shows that using data to group students by skill level was more effective than randomized grouping.

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Research backs these 8 strategies for building reading skills in young students

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