When children display reading problems in 1st grade, research shows that 74% of these kids will still be poor readers in 9th grade unless they receive explicit instruction in phonemic awareness.

After phonemic awareness skills are mastered, you can start to teach phonics. If your child or student is a struggling reader they will need to be taught phonics in a systematic, explicit, and multisensory fashion. All skills should be taught to mastery and new skills should always build on previously mastered material.

Repeated exposure to previously learned material is also important. This aids weak short-term memory, which is also a component to why struggling readers struggle to retain information they’ve learned. Lessons should contain a review component to make them cumulative in nature. Phonemic awareness and phonics are important building blocks when teaching developing readers, but other components of reading instruction includes vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.