Literacy is a lifeline for academic success and lifelong opportunities. For older students still struggling with reading, targeted intervention powerful and transformative. In this conversation with Lisa Mucci, Curriculum Associates' Impact Specialist in Curriculum and Instruction, we explore practical, evidence-based strategies that can make an immediate difference for these learners.

In this episode, Lisa shares her passion for supporting older striving readers.  We dive into specific techniques like chunking and looping for multisyllabic words, which helps students decode 60-80% of English vocabulary by recognizing prefixes, suffixes, and roots. This approach builds not just reading skills but transferable strategies they can apply in science, social studies, and beyond.

What makes this episode particularly valuable is the balance between instructional precision and human connection. Lisa reminds us that older struggling readers need teachers who believe in their potential while providing structured, explicit instruction. She offers immediately applicable strategies for building background knowledge, implementing fluency routines with purpose, and pre-teaching vocabulary to strengthen comprehension. Throughout our discussion, we emphasize that while compassion is essential, it must be paired with high expectations and collaborative effort between teacher and student.

Whether you're working directly with striving readers or supporting colleagues who do, you'll walk away with concrete techniques to implement tomorrow. Listen now to discover how literacy intervention truly can change lives, and how you can be part of that transformation for your students.

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