Helping with reading
There are lots of skills that a child needs to master to become a confident reader.
Not only do they need to be able to DECODE the words on the page, but they need to read ACCURATELY and FLUENTLY in order to UNDERSTAND what the words are trying to communicate.
When a child finds learning to read challenging, it can easily become an activity they try to avoid. Let’s face it, as adults we don’t spend too much time doing things that don’t make us FEEL good.
As a parent there are certain things you can do to help your child find an appreciation of reading as a way of gaining knowledge and entertainment.
Here are some USEFUL and FUN ideas to help your child ENJOY reading:
Eye level
Make sure the book is up at eye level (not down on a table.) This will help them access their mental images (pictures in their head) to make sense of the words they are reading.
Subtitles
Have subtitles on your screen for favourite TV shows and cartoons.
Paired reading
This can be done in a number of ways but is an opportunity for you to model good pronunciation, punctuation and also it gives opportunities to explain the meaning of words.
Bookmarker
Use a bookmarker, card or ruler to keep the eye on just the line being read.
Read to a pet
Research has shown that reading to your dog can improve reading fluency by up to 20 percent. Your calming and non-judgemental dog might just be worth trying as a reading partner.
Audiobooks & podcasts
Listening to stories is hugely beneficial to a child’s comprehension and improves their knowledge and spoken vocabulary too.
What next?
If you would like to book your child on one of my programmes, please contact me for further information.