Michelle is back again today with some tips for how to help a struggling reader. Enjoy!
When you have a child who is struggling to read, it can be hard to know where to start. Each child is different and no one sure method will work for each child. One of the best ways to help a child learn to read is to actually spend one on one time with him. As a Reading Recovery Teacher, I was trained to help some of the students who were having the most difficult time learning to read. Each lesson was written for each specific student and taught one on one. It was amazing to see the differences that it made for some of these kids. They were more confident, and were excited to read and write. Here are a few ideas that you can use to help kids who are struggling with reading.
Find out what the child does know. These concepts could be letters, words, hearing sounds in words, what level he can read at, or how well he can write to name a few. This helps give you what his foundation is and what to start building on. When the child realizes that there is a struggle, he can make himself feel like he can’t do anything. You want to build him up and help him realize that he is capable of completing the task of reading. Once you know what he knows, start gradually adding different concepts. You can work on several different concepts all at once.
Writing will also help your child learn to read. When he is writing, he is incorporating words, letters, and grammar. You will need to scaffold according to your child, but the idea is to make him feel like he is completing the task. You want this to be a positive experience. If you are having a hard time helping the child write, draw a picture, and ask your child to tell you about it. Then write a story. It can be as long as you want, or as short as you want. The act of writing will help solidify concepts he has been working on.
When working with an actual book, there are several things you can do to help the child succeed in reading. When introducing a new book, give an overview of the book- explain the story line, point out difficult words, ask questions about what they think might happen, or anything you think might help him when reading. This will help give him a background, on what he is reading. As he reads any book, remind him that he needs to make sure that what he is reading looks right, sounds right, and makes sense. (An example of this might be a child reads the phrase “I see a fire engine” as “I see a fire truck.” It sounds correct, and it makes sense, but it doesn’t look right because truck starts with “t” and the word on the paper starts with an “e.”)
While there are many more strategies that you can use with a struggling reader, these few can help you get started. Working one on one with the child consistently will only help your struggling reader to become a proficient reader. The time will be well worth the effort, and bring joy to you and your child.
For more information, please visit the Reading Recovery website.
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