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For the millions of students who struggle to read at grade level, every school day can bring feelings of anxiety, frustration, and shame.

That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 critical to support students鈥� social-emotional needs alongside their reading instruction, experts say, especially in later years. After 3rd grade, students are expected to switch from learning to read to reading to learn. But if students haven鈥檛 mastered the foundational reading skills at that point, they may never become strong readers. They may disengage from school as the years go on, and many鈥攅specially students from low-income families鈥攚ill not graduate.

鈥淏y the time kids hit 3rd or 4th grade, if they鈥檙e still having a tough time [with reading], they view it as a failing on their part,鈥� said Elizabeth Jaeger, an associate professor in the University of Arizona College of Education. 鈥淩eading is such a core part of being successful in school, and they see themselves as not being able to do that. 鈥� 鈥楢ll these other kids just like me are doing just fine, and I can鈥檛 seem to get it together.鈥� That鈥檚 just a really heavy burden, I think, for a lot of kids and that鈥檚 the heart of their vulnerability.鈥�

School can be a minefield for those students, particularly as they reach middle and high school. Reading is woven throughout every subject area, meaning that children who don鈥檛 receive appropriate support can fall behind in multiple classes, even though they are capable of intellectually understanding the material. Teachers may call on students to read aloud in front of the entire class, opening them up to potential judgment or snickers from their peers. And sometimes, students who lack decoding skills are given early-reader texts to practice, which feel babyish and boring.

Often, students who are not progressing at the same rate as their peers are ashamed and try to hide their lagging reading skills, said Ann Monroe, the assistant dean of the University of Mississippi School of Education who studies shame in the classroom. That desire to hide can manifest itself in four ways, as defined in psychiatrist Donald Nathanson鈥檚 model of the :

• Attack self. This can range from verbal self-put-downs (鈥淚鈥檓 so stupid鈥�) to self-harm.
• Attack others. A student may lash out at a teacher or classmate who exposes their weakness in reading.
• Withdrawal. A student who is ashamed of their reading abilities may avoid participating in class or stop showing up altogether.
• Avoidance. A student may try to deflect attention by exhibiting disruptive behaviors, such as being the class clown or acting out.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a rare occasion for a kid 鈥� who knows they鈥檙e struggling to be willing to be brave enough to ask for help,鈥� said Jeanne Schopf, a middle school reading specialist, interventionist, and coach in Sturgeon Bay, Wis.

Many students don鈥檛 master foundational skills in early grades

Research shows that systematic, explicit phonics instruction is the most reliable way to make sure that children learn how to read words. Yet many elementary teachers aren鈥檛 trained in this type of instruction, so students are often taught to identify a word by guessing with the help of context clues. They might learn some letter-sound patterns but not others. They can鈥檛 reliably decode words but may be able to mask their reading difficulties if they understand the meaning of the story and can predict words that make sense and look right on the page.

The opposite is also true: Some students may be able to decode, but they don鈥檛 have a deep enough understanding of oral language to make meaning of the words they are saying.

Often, children who can鈥檛 reliably decode words continue to advance through school at a substandard level without receiving any evidence-based instruction, said Sarah Part, a policy analyst at the nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York, which offers legal and advocacy support for students from low-income backgrounds in New York City who are struggling in school.

鈥淭he problem just gets worse and worse and worse over the years, and the student gets increasingly frustrated and falls further and further behind,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e students who could have learned to read, no question, had they gotten the type of instruction they needed.鈥�

Small deficits students may have in reading compound over time鈥攁 phenomenon known as the Matthew Effect in Reading, after the Bible verse in which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. A student who struggles with decoding can鈥檛 access the information in grade-level texts, unless teachers provide other avenues. If they can鈥檛 access the information, they can鈥檛 use it to make sense of future texts, and their comprehension and background knowledge suffers.

By the time students who struggle to read get to middle or high school, many of them have been in ineffective reading-intervention programs for years, experts say. They may develop low self-esteem or anxiety, and many are angry, both at themselves and at educators who have not been able to teach them to read.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e really internalized these messages that school isn鈥檛 a place for them, that they鈥檙e not smart, and that reading isn鈥檛 an enjoyable activity,鈥� Part said.

Sometimes, these students disengage or act out so frequently that teachers assume they鈥檙e not applying themselves or don鈥檛 care about school. But in reality, Part said, 鈥渋t鈥檚 all stemming from the fact that it鈥檚 really frustrating and humiliating to be older and not be able to read.鈥�

Teachers can help mitigate feelings of shame

Teachers can support students鈥� social-emotional needs by maximizing their positive feelings, minimizing negative ones, and creating a culture where students feel comfortable talking about their emotions surrounding reading, Monroe said.

To start, teachers must create a classroom environment where students feel comfortable asking for help and making mistakes in public without fear of mockery. Meg Tegerdine, a 5th and 6th grade special education teacher in Florissant, Mo., said her students often feel like educators in their past have given up on them. It takes time for them to get to a place where they feel comfortable being vulnerable and taking risks in reading, she said.

鈥淣othing works if you don鈥檛 have relationships鈥� with students, she said. 鈥淚 try really hard every year to let them know 鈥� they鈥檙e worth fighting for and I鈥檓 going to be the one fighting for them.鈥�

But pedagogical strategies like 鈥減opcorn reading,鈥� in which students are randomly called on to read aloud for a short period of time, can cause anxiety for students who are below grade level in reading, educators say. 鈥淭hat is a really easy way for a kid to feel discouraged or put on the spot,鈥� Tegerdine said.

Instead, teachers could use strategies like 鈥渃horal reading,鈥� in which the entire class reads aloud in unison, or private read-alouds, in which a student reads directly to the teacher, to build fluency and oral-language skills, Monroe said.

Teachers should also carefully consider how often they鈥檙e grouping students of similar reading skills together, because that can stigmatize struggling readers, Monroe said. While ability-based reading groups are meant to target instruction to students鈥� learning needs, research shows that students in lower-level reading groups are slow to progress academically and less likely to move up to higher-level reading groups in later grades.

鈥淎 lot of times, students get stuck in groups,鈥� Monroe said. 鈥淭hey notice it, and this can create a feeling of shame.鈥�

She recommends teachers use flexible grouping, a strategy that puts students in different reading groups depending on the day and the lesson. Sometimes, the groups may be homogeneous in terms of reading skills, while other groups might consist of students of varied abilities.

Also, it鈥檚 important to capitalize on the strengths students already have. For example, Monroe said she worked with a high school teacher who had many students reading below grade level. However, the students were artistic and enjoyed illustrating comic books鈥攕o the teacher encouraged them to add more text into their comic books and then swap their books with peers to read.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e doing something you鈥檙e good at, you鈥檙e much more motivated,鈥� Monroe said. And 鈥渨hen kids are motivated, they tend to do better.鈥�

Teachers should meet students where they are

Experts say older students who are reading below grade level should have access to age-appropriate texts that are engaging while still being accessible. High/low books鈥攕hort for high interest, low reading level鈥攃an help build fluency and vocabulary skills while also maintaining interest in reading.

Nonfiction texts often strike a good balance between having sophisticated content and relatively simple sentences, the University of Arizona鈥檚 Jaeger said. And Tegerdine said she uses a lot of comic books and graphic novels with her students, since the subject areas are usually more mature, but there鈥檚 less text.

Schopf, the middle school reading interventionist in Wisconsin, said she gives students who are reading below grade level the same books as their classmates as long as there is additional support. For example, students can listen to an audiobook, which will help them develop more vocabulary and meet certain grade-level standards, such as identifying the theme or the main character. (Students will also meet with Schopf for explicit phonics instruction.)

But often, middle and high schools don鈥檛 provide students who are below grade level in reading with the assistive technology they need, said Part of the Advocates for Children of New York.

鈥淣ot being able to read at grade level should not be a barrier to getting other grade-level academic content,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what鈥檚 going to help students engage in school.鈥�

After all, by middle school, students who struggle with reading have often experienced what could be considered trauma, educators said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very important鈥攊n addition to getting students evidence-based instruction鈥攖o validate their past experiences,鈥� Part said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been struggling for a long time, and no one has helped them. It鈥檚 not their fault: The school system failed them.鈥�