Four Tips to Help Your Child Read

(Ages 3-10)

As a Reading Recovery teacher, I had 20 weeks to bring a struggling reader to grade level.  Here are strategies I learned to encourage great reading practices.

1. You are their first teacher! You were made for this job.  You just don’t know it yet.  You are the best person to instill a love of reading with your child.  You can create a positive association with reading by just being there.

2. Relax it is just a book! Some parents make the mistake of asking children to reread and sound out incorrect words over and over.  This does 2 things: First is takes the pleasure and fun out of reading. Secondly, it makes it harder to read because children lose the essence of the story when they have to work that hard.  After all reading is not just the knowledge of words but also the understanding of a message.  Think about how difficult it would be for you to understand what I am saying if you were stopped at every sentence and had to reread, sound out and point to every word?

3. Challenging books at school, easier books at home (unless you home school).   If you home school then easier books should be used for free reading time.  When children are reading for pleasure or on their own they will enjoy it more if the reading is at or slightly below their level.  If a child is making errors more than once or twice per page then it is too hard.  It is very difficult to read for pleasure if you are reading something that frustrates you. The more children like reading the more they will read which in turn will improve their reading skills.

4.  Look at the Pictures! When we are reading we pick up messages.  These messages come in the written and non-written form.  The pictures convey a lot of information that children need.  It is a good idea to do a picture walk before children read a book.  As the child is looking at the pictures talk about what is happening and what might happen next.

Reading is such a complex concept and can be very difficult for children.  The next time your child brings home their books to read, find a comfy spot, throw your arms around them, and enjoy this moment together.

How do you make reading meaningful?

Photos property of author and used with permission.