Which instructional strategy would be most beneficial for students struggling with reading?

High-frequency words with irregular spellings is a particularly beneficial instructional strategy for students struggling with reading because these words make up a substantial portion of written text. Many of these words do not follow typical phonetic rules, which can make decoding them challenging for struggling readers. By focusing on high-frequency words, teachers can help students gain confidence and fluidity in their reading, enabling them to recognize these common words more quickly and accurately. This familiarity is critical, as a strong sight-word vocabulary allows students to concentrate on comprehension and meaning rather than getting bogged down in decoding every single word.

In contrast, while listening to audiobooks can enhance comprehension and model fluent reading, it does not directly address the specific challenges of decoding irregular words. Using graphic organizers can aid in understanding and organizing information but might not specifically target reading difficulties. Grammar workshops, though valuable for writing and language understanding, do not typically support immediate reading challenges that arise from struggling with recognizing and processing text. Therefore, focusing on high-frequency words with irregular spellings effectively builds foundational reading skills necessary for overall literacy development.