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When students struggle with reading or writing at any grade level, it is important to identify the specific area in which support is needed. Screeners, writing samples, listening to students read aloud and and other formative assessments can be helpful. Sometimes, bolstering activities that are already built into the ELA curriculum can be enough. At other times, especially for students in upper grades, you may need to use supplemental programs. Here are some resources.

Middle and high school students

• (webinar)
  Anita Archer, the leading scholarly voice on adolescent literacy, presents this webinar in which she models strategies to improve student engagement.
• (Language Magazine)
  As Archer states, "There is no reading strategy powerful enough to compensate for the fact that you can't read the words." This piece, although originally targeted at readers during the pandemic, presents clear, accessible ideas for secondary teachers.
• (U.S. Department of Education, 2008)
  This practice guide presents evidence-based recommendations for improving literacy in grades 4 and above.
• (Really Great Reading)
  A research-based look at decoding and accuracy as a means to fluency and comprehension in reading.
•   (Archer)
  Directed at classroom teachers, this piece by Anita Archer explains three approaches for instruction in decoding.

Students with disabilities

• Special education resources from the UFT

English language learners

Research supports explicit instruction for ELLs in the literacy components of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and writing.

Teaching linguistically diverse students requires the use of supports and scaffolds to help them acquire the foundational skills and academic language required for comprehension.

Resources

• 
  This popular article on the Colorin Colorado website includes components of reading instruction for ELLs.
•  
  NYSED has created a series of literacy briefs to complement and support the Next Generation Learning Standards in settings serving linguistically diverse learners.

Resources for parents

• (Advocates for Children of New York)
• (Advocates for Children of New York)
•  
  In this YouTube video, a parent demonstrates some things to be aware of during reading instruction.

DOE resources

The DOE uses several reading intervention programs that have been validated by independent research. 

• 
  A short-term intervention program for struggling readers in grades 4-12 who read at or above a 3rd-grade level. Designed by Dr. Anita Archer, a leading expert in adolescent reading, REWARDS teaches students to decode multisyllabic words and to identify and understand prefixes and suffixes. The program builds fluency and academic vocabulary, leading to improved comprehension. Instruction is teacher-delivered, explicit, and fast-paced.
• 
  A “comprehensive and multisensory reading intervention and instructional program that integrates phonological awareness, phonics, handwriting, fluency, vocabulary, spelling, and comprehension in an instructional design that is based upon how struggling readers learn.” SPIRE lessons have 10 carefully timed and scripted steps. Teachers receive a kit with all the materials needed to deliver the program. SPIRE is fun, engaging and fast-paced. It has been used by centrally funded IEP and intervention teachers in elementary schools for several years.
• Really Great Reading and  
  Phonics Boost is geared to students in grades 3-12 with “significant and severe decoding weaknesses.” Lessons focus on phonemic awareness, phonics, and word attack skills. Like other interventions, it is delivered in a small group. There are multiple entry points for the program. Phonics Blitz is for students in grades 4-12 who struggle with complex text. It is a fast-paced program with materials that are appropriate and engaging for older students. The focus is on helping students read multisyllabic words and words with advanced vowel patterns. Teachers using Boost and Blast have access to a free grouping matrix to help identify the level of students’ decoding difficulties, select appropriate lessons and determine the maximum group size.