Abstract
Learning to read is of primary focus in the early grades. Reading can be a challenge for many students, especially those with disabilities. With rising class sizes, and more students with disabilities included in the general education setting, the need for more individualized support in literacy instruction is vital. Innovative approaches are needed to increase learning opportunities in ways that are both practical to implement and cost-effective for schools. Cross age peer tutoring presents a promising approach to support students, both academically and socially. This involves pairing an older student, the tutor, with a younger student, the tutee, for tutoring sessions. This article provides elementary general and special education teachers with a step-by-step plan for implementing a cross age tutoring program to increase literacy outcomes for all students, specifically those with disabilities.
Mr. Canazales’s class of 23 first graders includes 10 students who read below grade level. Another eight students are right on track in reading, and five read above grade level. The class includes English learners and monolingual English speakers in addition to four students with reading disabilities. Mr. Canazales works with small groups of students to focus reading lessons on their specific needs, but he wants to do more to individualize instruction. During lunch one day, he told Ms. Allen about the situation, and she expressed facing a similar challenge with her fourth-grade class. After all, Ms. Allen’s class also includes a wide range of students, including English learners and monolingual English speakers. She also teaches a few students with reading disabilities. To provide an opportunity for more individualized support, Ms. Allen suggested their classes partner for cross-age peer tutoring. The teachers agree to pair their classes for 30 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays for cross-age peer tutoring activities focused on reading.
The Challenge of Reading Instruction in the Diverse Classroom
One of the most vital skills for students to master in the primary grades is reading. Literacy instruction and practice are of primary focus for young learners, and students’ competency in reading carries powerful implications both in school and beyond. Foundational reading skills like word reading appear in Common Core State Standards and progressive state standards in kindergarten through second grade, but many students continue to struggle with these skills into upper elementary and beyond. In fact, more than two-thirds of U.S. fourth-grade students with disabilities cannot identify the main idea in a passage and likely exhibit poor oral reading fluency and word reading skills (NCES, 2022; White et al., 2021).
Additional factors exacerbating this challenge include a loss of instructional time due to schools’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic (West & Lake, 2021). As a result, teachers are adapting and responding to an increasing number of students with substantial needs both academically and socially. This reality reveals a need for innovative, evidence-based instructional practices that foster literacy development for all students, especially those with disabilities. Resources that are feasible to implement in the classroom and efficacious toward literacy growth are essential.
One approach with demonstrated success for improving student reading outcomes among students with and without disabilities in the general education classroom is cross-age peer tutoring (Shenderovich et al., 2016). This model pairs a younger student, the tutee, with an older student, the tutor. Cross-age tutoring presents a powerful resource that provides individualized instruction through peer support and demonstrates increased reading outcomes for students with and without disabilities in the general education classroom (Okilwa & Shelby, 2010). At a time when increasing numbers of students struggle with learning to read, more students with disabilities are included in the general education classroom, and school finances often require “doing more with less,” a cross-age tutoring program provides a step in the right direction toward solving some of the most difficult classroom challenges.
Overview of Cross-Age Peer Tutoring
Guided by clear expectations and structure, the cross-age peer tutoring model provides an opportunity for students to receive individualized academic support through instruction and feedback and gain a positive role model in a highly active setting (Topping & Bryce, 2004; Ziegler et al., 2020). Although the learning is student-centered, it is also student-led. Peer tutoring provides greater opportunities for active engagement, enhances motivation, and increases student time on task (Delquadri et al., 1986). Teachers and paraprofessionals take a support role in this approach to train tutors and tutees, maintain expectations and structure, and provide feedback.
Research evidence supporting cross-age peer tutoring is robust. A meta-analysis of 15 randomized controlled trials examined the efficacy of cross-age peer tutoring delivered in schools with limited resources (Shenderovich et al., 2016). Findings indicate that when older peers tutored younger peers for 12 weeks or longer, a medium effect size of g = .18 was detected on reading outcomes. Highly structured reading programs utilized during cross-age peer tutoring sessions produced larger effects than loosely structured programs, and when the tutor and the tutee are of the same gender, effects on reading outcomes are larger (Leung, 2019).
Cross-age peer tutoring is a particularly potent intervention among students who struggle with academics. In fact, effects among students at lower academic ability levels are exceedingly large (d = 1.03; Leung, 2019). Among students with disabilities, cross-age peer tutoring has a significant, positive effect on their use of reading strategies (VanKeer & Vanderlinde, 2010) and is particularly powerful for students with learning disabilities (d = 0.75; Bowman-Perrott et al., 2013).
Evidence further suggests that older peer tutors can successfully be taught to motivate and encourage younger tutees (Hänze et al., 2018). As tutors and tutees engage in discourse, tutees are more likely to feel comfortable asking questions, attempting new language patterns, and engaging in new literacy practices (Martin-Beltrán et al., 2017), serving to increase understanding of content (Moliner & Alegre, 2020). Prior studies on cross-age tutoring have demonstrated promising results on students’ nonacademic outcomes as well, including increased self-concept and enjoyment of reading (Lee, 1980; Miller et al., 2012). Furthermore, cross-age tutoring can provide students, especially those with disabilities, with an opportunity to gain friendships and participate more actively throughout the school day both academically and socially (Schaefer et al., 2016; Ziegler et al., 2020).
How to Implement Cross-Age Peer Tutoring
Step 1: Pair Students
First, teachers will need to think carefully about pairing. It might be frustrating for two struggling readers to work together, and after all, there are many examples of students who do not get along with one another. The procedure provided here capitalizes on matching tutees with tutors according to reading skill and the increased effects of same-gender pairs (Leung, 2019). First, prior to matching pairs of students, both teachers (of the tutor class and tutee class) should consider the reading levels for each student. Assessment data, student work, and teacher observations can all be used to determine a child’s current literacy level. Then, each teacher should create a list of their students in order from highest reading level to lowest reading level.
Next, the teachers should line their class lists up next to each other (with students in order from highest to lowest reading level) to create the tutor/tutee dyads. This protocol will match the strongest readers in the tutor class with the strongest readers in the tutee class. Likewise, the older students with lower levels of reading skills should be matched with younger students with lower reading levels. This procedure aims to create an even differential across the pairs, meaning each group of students has a similar gap between the reading level of the tutor and the tutee (Topping, 2005).
Research suggests that pairing tutors with same-gender tutees also promotes positive outcomes (Leung, 2019). Teachers may also consider their observations and understanding of student personalities, interests, and behavior when creating these pairings. The leveled list approach (outlined previously) serves as a starting point, but tutoring pairs may need to be adjusted based on teachers’ knowledge and understanding of individual students (Van Keer & Verhaeghe, 2005). Figure 1 demonstrates a method for pairing tutors and tutees and adjustments made for initial pairings of Mr. Canazales’s and Ms. Allen’s students.
Tutor pairing protocol
After students in Mr. Canazales’s and Ms. Allen’s classes were ranked by current reading levels, the lists were lined up next to each other. This created the tutor and tutee pairings. After reviewing the lists, however, Mr. Canazales and Ms. Allen noticed a few pairings that could be swapped to better support students in this cross-age tutoring experience. First, Brooke and Charles swapped partners to provide them each with a same-gender tutee. Then, Kai and Cara swapped partners as well. Mr. Canazales and Ms. Allen know that both Cara and Rosa are emergent bilingual students and share the same home language. They agreed this would be an asset for this tutoring pair both socially and academically. Finally, Lukas and John swapped partners because Mr. Canazales and Ms. Allen know that these two students frequently argue outside of school. These tutor or tutee swaps maintain a relatively even difference between literacy levels of the older and younger students while also accounting for a variety of other factors that are known to influence cross-age tutoring outcomes (Leung, 2019).
Step 2: Train Tutors and Tutees
Once student pairs are identified for cross-age tutoring, the next step is to train both the tutors and tutees. Beginning with a clear and thorough training serves to set expectations, establish a routine, and instill confidence in both tutors and tutees. These practices will build a strong foundation for tutoring time while also working to promote increased outcomes for tutees (Hänze et al., 2018). Keeping tutor and tutee training concise supports student engagement and focus (Leung, 2019). For tutors, 30 to 45 minutes should be sufficient, and tutees may only require about 20 minutes. Training should include expectations for tutor/tutee behavior and modeling of praise, correction, and encouragement for tutors to support their tutees. Modeling and practice of any literacy activities that tutors will use during lessons are important to support tutors’ confidence and independence in leading the tutoring for their tutee. These aspects will also depend on the specific curriculum or activities in use. Table 1 provides one example of a checklist to guide teachers as they plan and implement training for cross-age tutoring that focuses on reading.
Tutor Training Checklist
Even once training is complete, teachers should continue to monitor student lessons and provide feedback for students to ensure that sessions are aligned with expectations. This also provides an opportunity for teachers to provide positive reinforcement to tutoring pairs for working hard and following expectations.
Step 3: Provide Clear Structure and Expectations
When tutoring times are well structured, both tutors and tutees know exactly what to do and when (Okilwa & Shelby, 2010). Furthermore, structured tutoring has demonstrated statistically significant positive outcomes on students’ academic outcomes (Leung, 2019). This predictability will support student time on task while also building students’ self-efficacy related to cross-age tutoring time. Teachers may choose to use a general structure where different reading activities can be plugged in. This allows for flexibility in what is practiced but maintains the same overall schedule. Because cross-age tutoring is both student-centered and student-led, it is important to provide tutors and tutees agency and independence in carrying out the daily activities. A small, clear cue card may be helpful as a reminder of structure. This should also be appropriate and easy to follow for students, according to their respective grade levels. See Figures 2 and 3 for sample tutoring routines for both tutors and tutees.
Tutor cue card
Tutee cue card
Step 4: Engage Students in Evidence-Based Reading Activities
Although cross-age tutoring creates a unique and supportive format to foster learning, it is only as effective as the activities embedded. Especially for students with or at risk for disabilities, evidence-based practices are vital to support literacy growth. The Florida Center for Reading Research has a collection of research and evidence-based activities that focus on building reading skills. Many of them would be perfect for cross-age peer tutoring. Table 2 provides educators with a range of games and activities that can be implemented within cross-age tutoring and details regarding the specific skills each activity supports.
Sample Reading Activities from the Florida Center for Reading Research
Note. For more games, see https://fcrr.org/student-center-activities/kindergarten-and-first-grade.
Table 2 provides many options for teachers to choose that support reading growth. However, for students, consider limiting choices. This ensures that more time is spent on learning and less time on choosing an activity. If providing a menu of activities, consider providing two to three options. Figure 4 shows a reading activity menu appropriate for first-grade tutees with options from the Florida Center for Reading Research.
Partner activities menu
Next, activities should be focused on skill building. This is when cross-age peer tutoring can really have an impact. For example, instead of simply reading a book together, consider focusing on reading fluency. A simple routine for fluency practice that focuses on both tutors and tutees is shown in Figure 5.
Reading fluency routine
Conclusion
Reading remains one of the primary areas for growth in young students, particularly those with learning disabilities (NCES, 2022). Classrooms include a wide range of learners, and increasing class sizes decrease access to individualized support. These challenges create an opportunity for innovative approaches to support literacy learning. Cross-age tutoring presents a practical and cost-effective means of responding to student needs and demonstrates academic benefits for both tutors and tutees (Wright & Cleary, 2006). Students also benefit socially as they gain confidence and a positive role model.
Students with reading disabilities demonstrated accelerated growth through cross-age tutoring, with rates at or approaching those of typically reading, grade-level peers (Wright & Cleary, 2006). Providing added individualized support, especially in the primary grades, works to promote early intervention and enhance gains in literacy skills (Lovett et al., 2017). Access to individualized tutoring in literacy skills is a powerful support for all students, specifically those with disabilities.
After training tutors and pairing students, Mr. Canazales’s and Ms. Allen’s students began cross-age tutoring reading lessons twice per week. The first few sessions were highly structured, and students needed some additional support with expectations and activities. Mr. Canazales and Ms. Allen collaborated to monitor tutoring dyads and intervened to provide additional support when necessary for both academic and behavioral needs.
As students continued to meet, both Mr. Canazales and Ms. Allen noticed that their students looked forward to the time with their buddy, and many gained a new friend. Students grew both academically and socially and demonstrated increased motivation and engagement during tutoring sessions.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Science, through Grant R305R220024. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the U.S. Department of Education.
