Listen to Your Child Read Everyday!

Helping a child learn to read is easier than most parents think.

 

Find books that are at your child's reading level. If your child makes a mistake or takes a long time to sound out more than one in ten words, the book your child is reading is at frustration level. Easier books should be chosen.

Be patient.
Let your child know you are his or her audience.
You expect the story you hear to make sense, so you expect your child to fix anything that is confusing.

You can explain it like this. As you listen to a story there's a movie playing in your head. If something is not read correctly, the movie in your head gets fuzzy or stops. Ask your child to make a movie in his or her head too.

Hopefully your child will fix his or her reading or ask for help when something stops making sense. Let your child know if something didn't make sense to you. Give your child time to use and combine reading skills. Wait for your child to ask for help before pointing out a mistake or jumping in to show how to read a word.

It's okay to tell your child a word sometimes. You can point out letter sounds or ask your child to look at pictures and think about what might make sense, but you don't have to do it every time. You want to keep the flow of the story going, so your child's movie doesn't stop.

Many children learn to read easily after a little instruction and being read to early and often. About thirty percent of children struggle. If a child starts to fall behind in reading and attends school, parents should not wait to get help for their child. School is all about reading. Even in math, children have to read story problems and directions. If a child falls behind in reading, they fall behind in everything. Every day it gets worse. I've seen this first hand, and it breaks my heart.

Please visit my Parent and Child Reading Assistance website for more information about teaching reading.