Do you have a struggling student? In my experience, every teacher has had one or more students who seem disinterested in reading or writing. Whether it’s avoiding books, resisting reading aloud, or showing little engagement with literacy tasks, the lack of motivation can be disheartening for both educators and families. But this disinterest is not a dead end – it’s a signal, a challenge, and most importantly, an opportunity.
Using the principles from the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy, educators can reframe literacy instruction not just as a requirement but as a source of discovery, creativity, and confidence-building.
Here are some suggestions:
Understanding the Root: Why Are Students Disinterested in Literacy?
Disinterest exhibited by struggling students often masks deeper issues:
- Reading difficulties or undiagnosed learning differences
- Lack of exposure to engaging or culturally relevant texts
- Limited background knowledge or vocabulary
- A history of failure that leads to a fear of embarrassment
- Instruction that doesn’t match the student’s developmental level
Before we can ignite motivation, we need to understand the barriers.
🔗 Learning to Read and Write is Complicated!!
The Science of Reading: What It Tells Us
The Science of Reading is a body of research that highlights how the brain develops the ability to read. It emphasizes the need for:
- Explicit, systematic phonics instruction
- Phonological and phonemic awareness
- Vocabulary development
- Fluency
- Comprehension strategies
This evidence-based approach helps ensure that students aren’t just guessing at words – they’re learning to decode, understand, and eventually enjoy what they read.
Learn More:
🔗 Reading Rockets – Science of Reading
Get the basics on the science of reading (SOR), how to understand research studies, and what it means for classroom instruction.
🔗 What is the Science of Reading? The Reading League
Where you can download – Science of Reading Defining Guide
🔗 Amazing Educational Links and Resources
You will find an excellent webinar titled “Teaching Children to Read and Write” by Sue Lloyd. Check out her section on Struggling Readers!
Structured Literacy: A Roadmap for All Learners
Structured Literacy offers a clear, cumulative path to reading instruction, particularly effective for students who struggle or are disinterested in learning. Make sure to use:
- Direct, explicit instruction
- Sequential, scaffolded lessons
- Multisensory teaching techniques
- Frequent review and practice
It doesn’t leave struggling learners behind. Structured Literacy (Systematic Phonics) builds success step-by-step.
Various programs offer a structured literacy approach, such as Jolly Learning (Jolly Phonics), UFLI, Heggerty Phonics, and Orton-Gillingham.
Some tools that may help… No matter what the age... Check to see what sound the student knows.
🔗 42 Letters and Sounds Assessment Record-Keeping Tool – FREE
Then play games and hands-on activities to make learning fun! Work with what the student knows. Reinforce those skills, teach and learn new sounds, sight words, and skills.
🔗 Phonics Games and Activities BUNDLE – Science of Reading – K-2 Phonics Work
🔗 Sight Word Work BUNDLE – includes 9 High-Frequency Sight Word Resources
But What About Motivation? Making Literacy Irresistible
In my experience, clear and explicit instruction, along with understanding, are key to reader success; however, motivation is likely the most essential ingredient for a struggling student. The science tells us how to teach, but reigniting a student’s desire to learn also means showing them why it matters and making it enjoyable. Here are some creative, practical strategies to help:
1. Make Literacy Personal
- Connect reading and writing tasks to students’ interests (sports, animals, pop culture, social issues)
- Let them choose books, characters, or writing topics they care about
- Create space for student voice – through journals, comics, spoken-word poetry, or digital storytelling
2. Use Multisensory Methods
- Incorporate movement, music, drawing, and tactile materials
- Use sand trays for letter writing, finger tapping for phoneme segmentation, or singing phonics songs
- Engage visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile learning styles
3. Celebrate Small Wins
- Track progress visually (e.g., sticker charts, personal reading timelines)
- Highlight effort, not just correctness
- Read aloud student writing, or let them present to classmates
4. Build a Reading Identity
- Read aloud every day – with emotion, humor, and connection
- Display books prominently. Build a “Books We Love” wall
- Invite guest readers, including parents, older students, or community members
5. Use Play and Imagination
- Turn phonics into games: treasure hunts for digraphs, word-building relays
- Act out stories or turn a book into a puppet show
- Create class books or collaborative storytelling projects
6. Differentiate Without Stigmatizing
- Use decodable texts that still have engaging stories
- Pair struggling readers with reading buddies who are supportive peers
- Offer audiobooks alongside print to support comprehension while building decoding
What You Can Do to Help a Struggling Student: A Summary for Educators and Parents
✅ Be patient and observant – Disinterest is a form of communication
✅ Use Structured Literacy – Explicit, sequential instruction works
✅ Be relentlessly creative – Make literacy fun, meaningful, and personal
✅ Celebrate effort, not just achievement – Progress takes time
✅ Make reading a shared joy – Your enthusiasm matters more than you know
Final Thought
Every child can learn to read and write. But to help them want to, we must meet them at the intersection of science and soul, grounded in what we know works and inspired by what we know they love.
Let’s teach literacy like it matters – because it does. And let’s teach it like it’s magic – because for every child who learns to read, it is.
✅ Ready to Explore More Hands-on Ways to Help a Struggling Reader?
If you’re looking for hands-on resources that align with the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy, while keeping learning creative and joyful, check out Primarily Learning.
From multisensory phonics activities to playful literacy games, Primarily Learning offers tools and ideas that will help you re-engage even your most reluctant readers.
🔗 Visit Primarily Learning today and start transforming literacy learning one spark at a time!
