Reading is a complex thinking process! So what can you do to help your child? Here are some ways to involve yourself in your student's reading!
One part of reading is getting the words correct. If your student is struggling with saying a word, these are some questions you can ask! Just saying "sound it out" is not always the best way to get them thinking about words.
- Say nothing. Give him a chance to figure it out.
- Say, “Look at the picture.”
- “Check it:” Does it look right, sound right, make sense?
- “Flex it.” This is the way to tell your child to try the other sound the letter makes (e.g., long vs short a, or ‘j’ for g, as in giraffe)
- “Does it fit the picture/story?”
- “Does that sound like a word you know? Say it like a word.”
- “What is happening here and how does this word fit in?”
- Say, “Let’s get the first sound.”
- Say, “What would make sense?” Even if he gets the wrong word, you can say “Yes, it’s a kind of house, but the author chose a different word. Look at the first letter and see if you can get it now.”
- Say, “Chunk it.” Are there smaller words in the bigger ones (e.g., ‘going’ has the word ‘go’ in it)?
- Say, “Let’s reread.” Before you tell your child the word, see if he can re-read the sentence and get it with a “running start.”
- Say, “Close your eyes. Now look again.” Have him close his eyes, open them, and see if his brain can just “get” the word as a sight word, without trying to sound it out.
- Say, “Say it like a word.” Decoding will only take you so far. If you know how to make the sounds come together like a word you know, it makes reading so much easier. It’s not about saying the sounds faster; it’s about saying them like a word. Country can be sounded out as “cow-n-try” or “count” “try.” But if they “say it like a word,” they are more likely to get to country. You can use a slinky to help them literally “see” what it looks like when they say stretched out sounds. Have them collapse the slinky as they “say it like a word.”
- Skip the word and come back when they have the context of the sentence (be sure they do).
- Look at word families. If your child knows ‘at’, they will more easily be able to identify ‘hat.’
- Get the main word first, then add on prefixes or suffixes. You can use your finger to cover up parts of the word while your child gets the main word.
- Tell them the word. You do not want to hinder the comprehension of a story by belaboring a single word. Instead, give your child the word and have her re-read the sentence so that the word sticks in her mind for the next time she encounters it!
Reading without understanding what is written, is like never reading at all. If your student is struggling to understand what is read, here are some suggested questions you can ask to get that thinking going!
- When you read with your child, ask them questions as they move through the book: Why did Mr. Smith do that? How do you think Suzy feels?
- Help your child make text-to-self connections. Ask them how they feel about a situation in the book or what they would do if they were the character in the book.
- Help them make text-to-text connections. Ask them: What other stories have you read that talk about going on a trip?
- Make sure they are reading at their level. A book that is too hard frustrates a child. A book that's too easy doesn't challenge him.
- Set aside at least 20 minutes to read every day.
- Help your child find books that they enjoy. This keeps them motivated.
- Make reading more important than TV.
- Model reading yourself. Children need to see parents read for fun.
- Encourage writing. Have children write about what they have read or keep a daily journal.
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