Dear Teachers,

This new edition of When Kids Can’t Read—What Teachers Can Do, like the original edition, is based on my bedrock belief that reading, though not an innate ability for anyone, is a critical skill for all.

Reading changes us. It changes the way we think, the way we see the world, the way we process information and dream new thoughts. It allows us to discover more about ourselves and the world around us so that we might become better versions of ourselves, so we might fully participate in our communities and our nation, so that we might flourish intellectually, emotionally, creatively, and socially as passionate and compassionate beings.

And when we don’t read, when kids can’t read, all that is gone. We lose that ability to learn in this transformative way. We run the risk of being manipulated by others. We are diminished. And in that moment of being less, all around us might suffer, too. Our understanding of complex issues then becomes dependent on what someone else tells us. When kids can’t read the result is far worse than lowered test scores. The result is an illiterate life.

This new and updated second edition recognizes that helping kids who struggle with reading means knowing how to help kids with:

• Comprehension: literal and inferential meaning
• Word Work: phonics, fluency, spelling, and vocabulary
• Engagement: required and independent reading, relevance, and motivation

When Kids Can’t Read recounts my journey with one student who changed the course of my professional career, and it is your guidebook for your own journey with your students as you discover What Teachers Can Do.

—Kylene Beers