Building agency in the intervention classroom

Why Choice Matters

Think about how many decisions someone else makes for middle and high school students each day. Someone sets their schedule, chooses their assignments and deadlines, and even tells them when they are allowed to use the restroom. Most students don’t get a choice about attending secondary reading intervention, either.

For students who have struggled with reading for years, another required class may feel like one more reminder of what’s hard. We want them to see intervention as a place where they can get support and make progress. But they may arrive feeling frustrated, embarrassed, or tired of having other people decide what they need.

We can make room for their voices.

A few meaningful choices give students some control over their experience. They also send a message we want our older readers to hear: Your interests matter here. Your preferences matter. I want to hear what you think.

That matters when we’re asking students to do something difficult. A student who hesitates to read aloud may be more willing to rehearse a passage they chose. A student who resists another worksheet may be ready to practice the same skill with word cards and a partner.

Of course choice won’t erase years of reading frustration. Our students still need explicit instruction, patient support, and opportunities to succeed, but having a say can help them feel more comfortable taking part in that work.

Start with One Question: What do you want to work on this year?”

I like to ask students this question when we begin intervention. Their answers tell me what feels hard, what they wish were easier, and what they notice about themselves as readers.

Sometimes they name something I’ve already seen. Other times, they tell me something an assessment would never reveal. They might want to read aloud without feeling embarrassed, keep up when their science class reads, or finish a book without giving up halfway through.

Those answers give me a place to connect with them.

I still use reading observations and assessment data to decide what to teach, but knowing what matters to students helps me explain how our work connects to something they want to do. We can work toward a goal together, with each of us bringing useful information to the table.

Choice: Let Them Choose What They Read About

When your instructional target allows it, offer a choice of reading topics. Football, manga, music, mysteries, unusual animals: a little variety can give students a reason to lean into the reading.

You certainly don’t need a passage for every interest in the room. Two options are a good start. The passages don’t have to be identical, but each one should support the skill you’re teaching and provide an appropriate level of challenge. If both passages work for your phrasing lesson, let students choose the topic.

Take a minute to ask what drew students to their selections, too. You may learn about a hobby, a favorite team, or an interest you can bring into a future lesson. Those small conversations help us get to know the people behind the reading data.

Choice: Give Them a Say in How They Practice

We know our students need practice. We also know that getting them to participate in that practice can take some work!

After you’ve modeled a skill, consider where you have room to offer options. Students might sort word cards, write on a whiteboard, or play a partner game. Each option needs to provide useful practice and give you a way to check their understanding.

You can also offer choices in how students prepare to read. Depending on their needs, they might listen to a model, echo-read a short section, or rehearse with a partner before reading independently. You decide which supports fit, then let students choose within those options.

Sometimes, the choice can be as simple as deciding where to begin. If either sequence works, ask whether they’d like to start with word work or the passage. That’s one decision you can hand over without adding anything to your planning pile.

Choice: Make Room for Their Curiosity

Even when everyone reads the same text, students can help decide what comes next.

After completing any essential comprehension work, invite them to choose a word to investigate, a question to discuss, or a detail they want to understand better. This gives them practice noticing and sharing their own thinking.

Some students will have plenty to say. Others may need a model and a little time.

You might say, “I understand what the character did, but I’m still wondering why she kept it a secret. That’s what I’d like to talk about.”

Then give students a chance to find something that caught their attention. Try to leave enough space for their ideas before offering more of your own. A detail you barely noticed may be the one that gets a quiet student talking.

Choice: Help Them Choose a Goal They Can Use Today

Think back to that first question you asked students: What do you want to work on this year? If you include students in goal setting, as in our PRINGOOALS activity, you have the perfect opportunity to address their wish in goal setting.

If they said they want to get better at reading, help them turn that wish into an action they can practice. For example, if fluency is the instructional focus, one student might work on pausing at punctuation. Another might practice grouping words into meaningful phrases. For comprehension, it could be, “I’ll stop and reread when a sentence doesn’t make sense.”

You can explain what you’ve noticed, model the possibilities, and help students choose a goal that fits their needs.

Choice: Include Students in Noticing Growth

We collect reading data because we need to know whether instruction is working. Our students need to see that progress, too.

Look at the evidence together and explain the results. They might compare two recordings, mark a passage to show improved phrasing, or explain how they solved a word they once would have skipped. Offer a choice when different ways of showing progress will give you the evidence you need.

Then look at that evidence together.

For a student who has spent years feeling behind, progress can be hard to recognize. They may still notice everything that feels difficult while missing the changes you see. Help them connect the progress to an action they took.

Including them in the discussion can empower a student who has spent years feeling behind.

Students know what they’re working on, understand what’s expected, and have a decision they can manage.

Make It Work:

Keep the Instructional Target Clear

Offering choice takes some planning. Every option needs to move students toward the skill you’re teaching.

If students need practice writing a response with text evidence, they’ll need to write. You can still let them choose between two prompts or decide which evidence best supports their answer. If independent reading is the goal, partner practice can help prepare them, but they’ll also need a turn on their own.

A simple explanation keeps everyone clear: “Today we’re practicing phrasing. Would you like to use the sports passage or the mystery passage?”

Students know what they’re learning, understand what’s expected, and have a manageable decision to make.

Start Small

You don’t need to spend your weekend creating twenty activities to give students a voice in intervention.

Start with two topics, two appropriate practice options, or a choice about where to begin. Keep the options manageable for your students and for you.

Then pay attention. Do students start more readily? Stay involved longer? Use the skill you’re teaching? Ask them what helped. Their answers can help you decide which choices to offer again.

Over time, these small opportunities can help students practice making decisions, explaining what they need, and recognizing what helps them learn. That’s the agency we want them to carry into their other classes and their reading beyond school.

Our older readers already have plenty of people telling them what they need to work on. We can provide that guidance while also making room for what they think.

“Which one would you like to try?” is a simple place to start.

If you’d like more ideas for providing structured choice, visit our Freebie Library and download the Juggling Needs Playbook.