Do you know any struggling readers?  I know I do, and I would be surprised if there are any teachers who couldn't name at least a few.  For years, I have watched for good strategies to help these readers and read everything I can to learn more about them.  As I was reading through some of my articles recently, I came across one that actually lists indicators by grade level of a reading deficiency risk.  While the list is not all-inclusive, it is a good general reference.  Each child is different and children's specific circumstances have to be considered before making any judgments.

With that in mind, here is the list from the article on a Reading Rockets web site that I printed for my own reference.

Preschool: 

• A history of significant language delay or disorder, even if the child currently appears to have age-appropriate language abilities
• Limited exposure to oral and written language before beginning school
• A native language other than English
• A disability that affects oral language acquisition, such as a hearing impairment
• A significant history of reading difficulties in close family members
• Oral language difficulties (poor vocabulary, listening comprehension, or grammatical abilities for the child's age)

Kindergarten and First Grade:

All of the above, plus the following:

• Poor phonological/phonemic awareness (inability to rhyme, identify initial and final sounds of spoken words, or to blend and segment one-syllable spoken words)
• Lack of familiarity with basic print concepts such as (1) print conveys meaning, (2) print is read left to right, and (3) words are separated by spaces
• Poor knowledge of common letter-sound relationships
• Difficulty decoding unfamiliar words at the middle or end of first grade, especially as measured by reading of nonsense words such as zat

Second and Third Grades:

All of the above, plus the following:

• Ongoing difficulties with decoding of unfamiliar words
• Slow, labored, dysfluent reading in grade-appropriate text
• Poor reading comprehension
• Poor spelling

Even though these characteristics are not set in stone and will not mean a child will fail at reading 100% of the time, they seem to be good guidelines to use to assist in determining if a student needs extra help.  Most of these risk factors probably seem to be common sense for anyone who has been teaching for a while, but it is always good to review.  It helps me think about students I work with and consider any new interventions I might employ to help their reading skills.