Reading Tips

 Ways to Help Your Child with Reading at Home

 Setting the Atmosphere

• Help your child find a quiet, comfortable place to read.
• Have your child see reading being modeled.
• Read aloud to your child.  Reread favorite stories.  Read with your child.
• Discuss the stories you read together.
• Recognize the value of silent reading.  Keep reading time enjoyable.

Responding to Errors in Reading

• Give your child wait time of 5 to 10 seconds.  See what he attempts to do to help himself.
• Ask: "What would make sense there?"
• Ask: "What do you think that word could be?"
• Say: "Go back to the beginning (of the sentence) and try again."
• Say: "Put in a word that would make sense there."
• Say: "You read that word before on another page.  See if you can find it."
• Say: "Look at how that word begins.  Start it out and keep reading."
• Tell your child the word.

Reminders

Focus on what your child is attempting to do.  Remain loving and supportive.  When your child is having difficulty and trying to work out the trouble spots, comments such as the following are suggested:

• "Good for you.  I like the way you tried to work that out."
• "That was a good try.  Yes, that word would make sense there."
• "I like the way you looked at the picture to help yourself."
• "I like the way you went back to the beginning of the sentence and tried that again.  That's what good readers do."
• "You are becoming a good reader.  I bet you're proud of yourself."

Source:  Invitations by Regie Routman