Supplemental Reading Help for Kindergarten Students: How Early Should You Start?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Substantial research supports the need for early intervention efforts for students at risk for failure. Despite the empirically documented importance of early, explicit reading intervention for students who enter school without critical prereading skills, many kindergarten programs delay intensive reading instruction until later in the year. Instead, during the 1st months or semester of kindergarten the emphasis is on teaching readiness skills. The authors compared the progress of kindergarten students who received small-group reading intervention across the full school year with those who began the same intervention midyear. Students with a full year of intervention outperformed those who had only a half year of intervention. Because of the concerns about starting a structured and intensive intervention for students who are transitioning to kindergarten, the authors offer suggestions for helping to address some important readiness skills while providing early reading intervention.