Starting in grade 3, poor readers are in deep trouble in every subject, no matter how smart they are. Your child was passed from grade to grade, perhaps even labelled with a learning disability. Perhaps he or she has assistance and accommodations to help survive school. But surviving isn’t the goal – thriving is the goal.

The research is clear: most children can become strong, competent readers with proper instruction. Some students need more intense training than others, but most can learn to be good readers. It gets harder with each passing year, so it is important to start now. Without help, your child will continue to fall behind in school and may develop self-defeating behaviors. By middle school, poor reading is a hair-on-fire emergency.

 

If your child is unable to get the type of training they need to develop their reading skills at school, they will need help outside of school. You can help your child learn to read, and we’ll show you how. Everything you need is on this website, and it's all completely free.

The training materials and advice on this site come from the Community Reading Project, a demonstration project helping middle-school (grades 6-8) students with severe reading disabilities. We run pop-up schools and clinics where volunteers teach failed readers using systematic research-based techniques.

Our volunteers follow the 'intensive' protocols from two large, well-known reading intervention studies, Torgesen et al. (2001) and Denton et al. (2006). Those studies showed that intensive, systematic, phonics-based intervention completely cures reading disability in almost every student.

That's exactly what we find - most healthy children can become a strong readers. It is hard work and takes time, but it can be done. The techniques are simple and we are happy to share them. The tools on this site are free.

Reading is a set of skills that your child must practice until they are automatic and error-free. Your child can become a strong reader with proper training, and that is what you must work toward. This site offers the tools you need to teach your child these skills.

Students do not 'outgrow' poor reading without intervention, they just fall further and further behind their classmates. Using the lessons on this website will help ensure they catch up. They must practice daily, so let's get started!