Helping Struggling Middle School Literacy Learners Achieve Success

Teachers can help minority children close the academic achievement gap in intermediate and middle school by combining literacy instruction and content-area material. This connection improves reading achievement and increases curriculum knowledge, even if students have previously experienced difficulty with primary school reading. Fortunately, upper-elementary and middle-level learners are still naturally curious, are developing cognitively, and have acquired some basic reading skills. Teachers can therefore extend students' previous learning by using a spiral curriculum, in which curricular concepts are introduced at an appropriate level and then revisited at more challenging levels. Teachers can also increase the academic complexity for students by using strategies that include picture books, word recognition skills, intensive subject matter, vocabulary in a meaningful context, Readers Theater, and after-school activities.