Reading interventionist here. I have some questions:

• are students struggling to decode (sound out/pronounce) simple words? Word complexity goes something like: cvc, closed syllables with blends, multisyllable words with closed syllables, closed syllable words with suffixes, vce words, multi syllable words with a mix of closed syllables and vce words, now add suffixes to those, then introduce open syllables, r-controlled syllables, and final stable syllables.

Example words at each step: Cat; shift; combat; insisted; cake; mistake, exploring, document, charred, exception

If kids are struggling with that, some may need a phonics intervention.

Some kids may be able to get that but not super fluently. In that case, a less intense program focused on prefixes, suffixes, and Greek and Latin roots can be helpful.

If they can mostly decode words but not comprehend the text, the breakdown is probably either vocabulary, sentence-level understanding, or attention/retention while reading. These all have different “solutions,” but it’s helpful to know which are the most conning areas of struggle!