Gone are the days of providing diverse readers with a one-size-fits-all approach to small group reading. If we look at Scarborough’s Rope, the Simple View of Reading, and Active View of Reading, we recognize the complexity of reading acquisition. The range of skills, knowledge, and factors required for proficient reading vary, as does the ease with which readers develop in each of these areas. This reveals a diversity of needs requiring teachers to pull from a variety of content, methods, and lesson structures.

Participants will learn to identify possible “pathways” for diverse small groups, recognizing that there are students with discrete needs in word recognition, language comprehension, active self-regulation, and bridging processes, rather than relying on leveled groupings. Utilizing the reader profiles in the Simple View of Reading, strands of Scarborough’s Rope, and categories of the Active View of Reading, we will discuss strategies for addressing the range of skills, knowledge, and factors for reading proficiency.