Teacher Adaptations to a Core Reading Program: Increasing Access to Curriculum for Elementary Students in Urban Classrooms

ABSTRACT

This article examines how three urban elementary school teachers adapted pedagogical strategies from a school district–adopted core reading program to increase their students’ access to the curriculum. Using teacher interviews and classroom observations to construct a descriptive case study of teacher adaptation, analysis reveals that the teachers: (a) provided social scaffolds that engaged students in a reading community, (b) repositioned students as active participants in constructing knowledge, and (c) embedded reading within authentic experiences. Results suggest that increased attention to when, how, and why teachers make adaptations to core curriculum programs is needed to ensure student access.

KEYWORDS:

• Core reading program
• elementary
• motivation
• struggling readers
• urban schools