After Reading The Effects of Theoretically Different Instruction and Student Characteristics in the Skills of Struggling Readers, it became apparent that intervention for a struggling reader is imperative to that readers success. The article states immediately that:

"During the previous 25 years there have been numerous studies focusing on the prevention of reading problems with young students. Converging evidence from these studies suggests that early instruction can be effective in preventing reading problems for many students."

The article takes you through two years of a rigorous study, explaining demographics, teacher qualifications, groupings of children, and findings. The following are highlights from this article to consider, and implement if appropriate within your own classroom, school or school district.

• One intervention used was Proactive Reading. This model is based on Skinner's Behavioral Theory, but goes beyond Skinner's theory "to include teacher communications, student response, and knowledge forms as elements for consideration when designing instruction (Engelmann & Carnine)."
• Another approach, which was closely aligned with Proactive Reading is Responsive Reading. Responsive Reading is modeled after Vygotsky's Theory which is a cognitive theory.
• Both interventions, while different, were based on the same pedagogical content. They both proved to be effective in supplementing instruction to readers who "demonstrate risk factors for reading difficulty."

Below is a link to Reading Rockets, which analyzed various interventions for at risk readers. The conclusions were the same - early intervention makes a difference for an at risk student. It can make the difference between bringing students to a level of proficiency, or having them struggle through-out their school career. The list compares numerous programs that can be used in the classroom to find one that fills a specific population of students, and student needs.

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/reading-intervention-programs-comparative-chart