Reading coaches becoming a fixture in many schools

Reading coach Jamie Leach passed out a variety of news articles to her 20 pupils in a literacy skills class at South Medford High School, Medford, Oregon, but before they flipped a page, she interrupted them. “Before you read it, list three things you already know about this topic, make a prediction about what it’s about and set your purpose for reading it,” Leach said. The exercise helps students focus on the information they need to obtain from the article, enhancing comprehension, Leach explained. After seeing reading scores climb at its Reading First elementary schools, the Medford district added reading coaches to middle schools three years ago and to high schools two years ago. Reading coaches are becoming a fixture in more and more schools, from kindergarten to 12th grade. Read the article in The Mail Tribune.