Free resource available for struggling readers during

COVID-19 pandemic

This free online resource connects

children with strategies and interventions to further their reading during the COVID-19 pandemic.    Time

spent away from the classroom can lead to early reading instruction difficulties. 

Issues surrounding struggling readers at all levels impact literacy rates, according to Jennifer
Summerlin, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of
Education.  

UAB has an online resource, Electronic Portal for Assistance Learning, to help remedy student
difficulties in literacy. The tool helps with reading comprehension, confidence, fluency, phonemic
awareness and phonics. The unique resource connects reading difficulties with resources to improve
literacy.    

“Literacy in children is a partnership between educators, parents and children,” Summerlin said. “This
resource is designed to help facilitators determine difficulties and identify usable strategies to get the
child’s literacy to the next level. During this pandemic, it is crucial for parents to continue reading to
and with their children.”

Summerlin and Scott Snyder, Ph.D., associate dean for the UAB School of Education, partnered to
develop the free EPAL resource to better diagnose and identify the “why” in a child’s reading
difficulties. In addition, they wanted resources readily available to facilitators to help the child become
a better reader.
The portal is easy to operate. It starts with a series of literacy questions based on the skill level of the
reader and the signs that the facilitator may see in the individual. Once a difficulty is determined, the
facilitator can use the remediation tab to identify instructional strategies to help the child become a
better reader. The strategies offer links to resources and articles to help the facilitator overcome the
difficulties in reading.

Resources fall into the following categories:

Research studies supporting the effectiveness of the instructional strategy.

Specific recommendations for using the instructional strategy for reading remediation.
Video demonstrations of the instructional strategy.
Online student activities to practice using the instructional strategy.

Visit the Electronic Portal for Assistance Learning website to learn more. 

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