Teaching Reading at Home
It can be very challenging to teach a child to read, and different methods work for different children. I work hard with each student in the classroom, and a significant portion of our time during the primary years is devoted to helping children read and understand what they are reading--it's the foundation of their education. You can help your child learn to read at home by promoting the importance of reading and encouraging your child when she struggles. Here are some tips to help you work with your child during development.
A balanced literacy program is best. This means that you should focus on comprehension, rate and fluency, word study, phonics instruction and plenty of exposure to multiple texts. Read to your child, with your child (share the text), listen to them read (this gives them an audience), and let them read independently.
Sounding out each and every word is not as important as the child understanding what she's reading. Phonics is an essential part of learning how to read but sounding out words well does not mean that you understand what the author is telling you. In fact, I have had students who are fabulous at decoding words. They can decode far above grade-level but fail at comprehension. I therefore suggest that you always, always focus on making meaning while reading with your child. I stress this because too many children are asked to look at individual letters or word families when decoding text and they spend a tremendous amount of energy sounding out words without ever understanding the sentence. Focusing on comprehension is particularly important when your child is a struggling reader. When struggling readers rely solely on phonics their fluency and rate suffer as well which are also crucial components to being a competent reader.
With young readers start by doing a picture walk. Just look at the pictures and make predictions about what is happening. This will help your child build context. Then go back and offer guided practice as your child reads the text. If they come upon a word they don’t know – ask them what would make sense. Encourage them to use picture cues, context cues, and sounds or syllables to help them figure out the word.
Looking for appropriate books? See my list of favorite books!
Don't have time to devote to reading with your child or frustrated with progress? Considering a reading tutor...