During remote learning, students are working more independently than they’re accustomed to, which means that their teachers need to give them more guidance than usual when assigning instructional texts, writes high school English teacher Catharine Ferguson.⁣ ⁣ “Just as a builder can’t succeed without the correct blueprints,” she says, “students need to see the blueprint for how they can succeed in our classes.”⁣ ⁣ Yet teachers don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Many traditional classroom strategies to teach reading comprehension skills can be adapted for both synchronous and asynchronous distance learning. Here are some approaches Ferguson recommends to improve students’ literacy—and support their burgeoning independence—virtually: ⁣ ⁣ • Make vocabulary accessible: When sharing digital texts with students, hyperlink definitions and embed context clues to help them understand the content. Also consider using digital platforms like Newsela that differentiate texts for various reading lev...