Interventions for young readers: A literature review with evidence-based strategies to practice

Abstract

Despite the generally highly individualised educational needs of children, when it comes to reading, three collective patterns of concern tend to arise. Research explicitly highlights the disparity that at-risk children and children with a disability may face in the classroom, as well as the longstanding ripple effects of early language and literacy disadvantage. Stemming from these foundations, the purpose of this literature review is to analyse the impact of literacy intervention strategies on early childhood students in mainstream Australian classroom settings. The paper will utilise formative classroom data in the form of teacher directed lesson observations in a student driven learning setting to obtain evidence of the effectiveness of implemented literacy interventions. Data will be collected through observational notes and a student reading level progression bar graph over a five-week period with literacy intervention lessons being run three times per week for one-hour sessions. There will be a direct emphasis on exploring the importance of primary literacy intervention in the inclusive early learning classroom, with a particular focus on the developmental process of reading in young learners. This review will also explore how the effective development of reading competence shapes learning and social development for years to come; unpacking current research literature and discussing a key selection of evidence-based intervention strategies utilised to bridge learning disparities for young readers.