Is your child struggling to read? Are they well past Kindergarten and they still are not strong with their phonics and have a hard time spelling words? They might be in fourth grade which is kind of the time teachers expect them to start ‘reading to learn’ now. It may seem like it’s too late and the ‘learning to read’ phase has gone, but don’t fret because spending some more extra time using the below strategies could help your child. It definitely cannot change your child overnight, but with daily persistence using the below tips, betterment will happen, and ‘reading to learn’<\/strong> will become easier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter how old your child is and even if they are well past Kindergarten or First grade if they don\u2019t have a solid understanding of phonics, it\u2019s going to be hard to spell words. So, remind your child of the phonics rules <\/a>and go through the basics <\/a>if they have trouble sounding out words. The ability to sound out words easily gives a child the confidence and motivation to read more often and rids them of any fear when they start reading a new book. Alphablocks<\/a> on youtube is a great resource for teaching phonics as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Make your child read aloud books that are either at or a slightly higher level than what they usually read. They can pick the perfect book for their ability by reading a page of the book and finding out how many difficult words are present. One can use the ‘Five Finger’ rule as described here. Reading aloud sentences with a parent or guardian is helpful so that they can be taught how to correctly pronounce any words they are mispronouncing and to try to sound out words that are new. It also helps spelling skills. It may be hard missing out on your favorite show tonight, but the time spent in getting the basic reading skills down with your child is rewarding for your child as well as you as a parent!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another thing that reading aloud with a parent or guardian can help with is context clues<\/a><\/strong>. So if your child comes across a new word in their daily reading and asks you the meaning of the word, have them try to figure out the meaning themselves by looking at context clues in the passage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reading passages on free or paid websites such as Readworks<\/a>, Ducksters<\/a>, Scholastic books\/passages<\/a> will help with practice. Getting the kids to think of the main idea of a passage and having them attempt to answer helps a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Daily reading is a critical part of learning and leaving out this and following all the other four strategies doesn\u2019t make sense. Reading every day even for at least 30 minutes – 1 hour helps them come across different words and will help them to remember them by sight the next time they see them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Find books similar to your child\u2019s interest level at the library\/bookstore\/kindle store. Just like we wouldn\u2019t like to read a book that doesn\u2019t excite or interest our minds, children feel the same way. So if your child likes books that are humorous or adventurous, search online for other books of the same genre or search \u2018books similar to this title\u2019 and take that list to the library\/store. For example, my daughter liked the juvenile book \u2018Night divided\u2019, so I searched for books like that title and came up with \u2018Words on fire\u2019 which she equally liked and held her attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just reading fiction and avoiding nonfiction all together especially for kids 3rd grade and older is going to be a problem. They are at a point where they are expected to read math word problems, Science, social and other subjects, fully understand them, and put them to practice. So, helping them gain some interest in other genres is key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trying out audiobooks instead of screen time help in building up their vocabulary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be persistent in making them pronounce new words according to phonics and help them if struggling. This way they can gain confidence that they are able to read any word using phonics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have patience when teaching them! It\u2019s not too late to help your struggling reader and do not give up otherwise they will have a harder time the older they get, so start now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n1. Phonics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2. Read Aloud<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3. Context clues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. Reading passages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
5. Daily reading habits <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
6. Find books similar to your child\u2019s interest level <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
7. Reading a variety of books: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
8. Audiobooks <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
9. Persistence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
10. Patience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n