Primary Prevention in Classroom Reading Instruction

cation Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA, 2004) contains an enormously important provision—the provision that up to 15% of funds can be used for prevention. The possibility of preventing learning difficulties before they start and of eliminating the need that a student fail before funds for intervention become available are intuitively appealing ideas. Now the challenge is to make prevention at the classroom level successful for all children. The focus in this article is on beginning reading instruction in primary-grade classrooms, with particular attention to (a) evidence-based practices that promote classroom reading success, and (b) the criteria for selecting core reading materials that address the needs of a diverse group of students.