Are there any specific strategies to help older students become better readers?
Yes, indeed. Educators have developed specific teaching strategies to meet the needs of older struggling students. Jack Humphrey, director of the Middle Grades Reading Network in Evansville, IN, has been a leading advocate in reforming approaches to middle school literacy education. He offers 12 administrative strategies that, while written for middle schools, apply equally well to high schools: • Encourage teachers to read and discuss books and ask questions about reading habits when interviewing prospective teachers. • Encourage reading teachers and librarians to participate in professional development activities. • Provide more time for reading. • Protect the school librarian from nonlibrary duties such as study halls, and encourage the librarian to promote voluntary reading among the students. • Purchase two books per student per year for the school library media center. • Emphasize classroom collections of books and other reading materials. • Create a student-operated paperback bo
