Reading in Focus: A Vision Series - Eye Spy… a Struggling Reader

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In this episode, Dr. Gina Pepin invites teachers to become reading detectives as we explore the mysteries behind students whose eyes seem to have a mind of their own. From skipped lines to jumbled letters, these signs often point to visual processing and tracking challenges—not laziness.

Learn how to observe, gather clues, and implement tiered, multisensory supports that help students connect what they see, say, and do. Discover practical classroom strategies, from finger guides and tactile word walls to movement-based reading activities, and understand when to collaborate with specialists.

Whether you’re tackling subtle eye-tracking issues or more complex visual challenges, this episode will give you the tools and insights to turn tricky “Eye Spy” missions into reading successes—helping every student feel seen, supported, and capable.

Check out more at www.ginapepin.com

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Episode Transcript

UNKNOWN (00:00):
Bye.

SPEAKER_00 (00:09):
Welcome back to Let's Talk Teacher to Teacher.
It's the show where we solve thegreat mysteries of reading, one
suspiciously squiggly line at atime.
Today's episode is called I Spya Struggling Reader.
No, it's not about hunting formissing classroom supplies,
though some days it might feelthat way.

(00:30):
It's about students whose eyesseem to have a mind of their
own, turning reading into asecret mission as they work hard
just to track the words on apage.
So here's the case.
Picture this, your student,let's call him Max, is bright

(00:50):
and a curious fourth grader.
But the moment he opens a book,words seem to disappear.
Lines get skipped, letters getall jumbled, and comprehension
flies right out the window.
Believe it or not, these areclassic signs of visual
processing and trackingchallenges.
Just to be clear, this isn'tabout laziness.

(01:13):
It's an eye-brain coordinationissue.
And trust me, it's trickier thantrying to catch a runaway pencil
in a windy classroom.
Step one, clues from theclassroom.
Your first step as a readingdetective is observation.
Really just look out for thosepatterns.
Does Max lose his place whenreading aloud?

(01:34):
Are the letters flipping likethey're practicing gymnastics?
What does he say about about theprint on the page?
Does he copy from the board witha little artistic
interpretation?
What does his production andwriting look like?
These early clues are reallygoing to help us decide if the
issue is visual, not just aboutphonics or comprehension.

(01:57):
Because additionally, tools suchas observation checklists and
family questionnaires can giveus a valuable insight.
Because parents are the folksthat often notice these subtle
signs like eye strain ordifficult tracking before anyone
else really does.
Step two, tiered support andaction.

(02:19):
So in tier one, classroomdetective work is going to
include things like using fingerguides and colored overlays and
structured tracking exercise.
Think of it as giving Max a pairof like reading spy goggles.
In tier two, this would includemore targeted interventions It

(02:40):
would be like guided readingwith some visual breaks and
multi-sensory activities liketracing letters in sand or words
in sand or hopping along wordlines.
Yes, even hopping becausereading can be a full-body
mission.
Then in Tier 3, when the mysterydeepens, you could bring in the

(03:01):
specialists, occupationaltherapists, developmental
optometrists, and maybe even asidekick or two because the
These folks will help solve thepuzzle with vision exercises
that will help make Max's eyesfeel like they're a well-trained
spy team.
Step three includesmulti-sensory tools as those

(03:24):
secret gadgets.
In step three, we're going todive into visual auditory and
kinesthetic strategies.
Think of it as a spy's toolkitfor reading success.
This would include things likeword walls with like tactile
objects to help studentsactually feel and remember those
words and those letters.
It would include tracking gamesthat actually guide the eyes

(03:48):
like following a laser pointeracross the page or mazes and
different things like that.
It also is going to includemovement based reading
activities such as hopping orpointing to the next word to
keep the whole body engagedwhile the brain reads.
All of these are going to helpstudents connect what they see

(04:10):
say and do so their eyes andbrains are finally on the same
page like literally The takeawayis that every struggling reader
has a story, and sometimes thechallenge isn't within their
mind.
It's what their eyes are quietlytrying to communicate.

(04:31):
By observing, supporting, andteaming up with specialists, we
can turn even the trickiest iSpymissions into complete reading
victories.
Remember, teachers, yourclassroom is kind of like a
detective agency, and everystudent's eyes are clues waiting
to be carefully interpreted.

(04:52):
Sometimes these challenges goway beyond even the best
teaching and even research-basedinterventions and instruction
and could signal that we mayneed to look at some of those
factors that are outside oftypical instruction to truly
support the learner.

(05:14):
Thanks for tuning in to Let'sTalk Teacher to Teacher.
Next time you see a student'seyes dirting like they're in a
spy movie, remember, it's notmisbehavior.
It could be a visual challengewaiting for your expertise.
So stay curious, stay patient,and keep solving those reading

(05:34):
mysteries.
Until next time.