Urban Aboriginal students often come to school with a different set of cultural and language learnings than those of their non-indigenous peers. These differences can pose major barriers for the primary- aged Aboriginal student trying to access the curriculum which is based on Standard Australian English (SAE). Aboriginal students often come to school speaking a recognised dialect of English, Aboriginal English (AE) which has its own grammatical, phonological, pragmatic and socio- cultural standards which at times are quite different from those of classroom language interactions. The mismatch between the language of the home (AE) and the language of the classroom (SAE) can have dramatic effects on the literacy learning of Aboriginal students and hence their ability to effectively read in Standard Australian English. This study aims to explore the question of whether changes would be evident in urban Aboriginal students (who speak Standard Australian English as a second dialect), following a targeted reading intervention program. This reading intervention program, called an 'Integrated Approach' combined existing strategies in reading and second language / second dialect teaching and learning, with cultural understandings, in a methodology aimed at improving the reading ability of the participating Aboriginal students. The students who were the 5 case studies were part of a larger cohort of students within a wider study. Students were drawn from primary schools in urban localities within the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. Qualitative data collection procedures were used to observe the 5 case study students over a period of 6 months and quantitative measures were also utilised to support this data for the purposes of triangulation. Both data collection sources for the case studies and the wider study showed that the reading intervention program did have significant effect on reading accuracy, reading comprehension and the affective area of learning. The study revealed that by using the teaching / learning strategies described in the intervention program, combined with socio-cultural understandings which include respect for the students' home language and an understanding of the effects of learning English as a Second Dialect (SESD), educators can assist Aboriginal students in improving their abilities to read in SAE. Other positive effects on students' behaviours during the intervention program which were recorded during the study included: an improved attitude to reading; a new willingness and confidence in reading; an improved willingness to participate in language activities both in tutorial sessions and back in the classroom; improved use of decoding skills and an improved control over SAE grammatical structures in writing tasks. This study emphasises the need for educators to work ardently at increasing their own understanding of how best to assist Aboriginal students in becoming competent literacy learners in SAE. Closing the gap created by the mismatch between home and school language can only be achieved by educators exploring eclectic pedagogical options and valuing the Aboriginal student's home language as a vital learning tool in gaining this competence in SAE literacies.