How to Help a Struggling Reader

Struggling Reader

  1. It is essential that your child read a book on his/her appropriate reading level.
  2. Success breeds success.
  3. Use the five finger rule if you are unsure of the appropriate reading level: read one page, and if the child misses five words, pick a lower reading level.
  4. Making reading a successful and positive experience.
  5. Listen to your child read often. Typically, students who struggle should not read alone.
  6. Do not over-correct your child. This creates a negative cycle and is discouraging for the child. However, do not let them guess too many words either.
  7. Many students have the “guessing disease”. They will guess at any unknown word, substituting another word in its place. We do not let them use strong contextual clues to determine the unknown word.
  8. Children need to reread books and stories but not to the point of memorization. For children that struggle, repeated readings do not always help them become more fluent.
  9. Children should preview the story before reading to get an idea of what the story is about.
  10. To decode unknown words children should use context and phonetic clues.
  11. Children who are having difficulty should read for several, short periods of time.
  12. Children should limit motor movements while reading.
  13. For beginning readers, finger pointing is permissible and encouraged.
  14. For children who are behind their expected grade level, it takes a tremendous amount of work to catch-up to their peers.
  15. Many parents are unable to teach their own child. Do not be discouraged. Children love and want to please their parents. When they have a weakness in a certain area, they will try many ways to avoid demonstrating that particular weakness to the parent they are trying so hard to please. A relationship between a child and teacher is different than a relationship between a child and a parent. Seek help from a degreed professional to remediate the weakness.
  16. It is essential that your child read a book on his/her appropriate reading level.
  17. Success breeds success.
  18. Use the five finger rule if you are unsure of the appropriate reading level: read one page, and if the child misses five words, pick a lower reading level.
  19. Making reading a successful and positive experience.
  20. Listen to your child read often. Typically, students who struggle should not read alone.
  21. Do not over-correct your child. This creates a negative cycle and is discouraging for the child. However, do not let them guess too many words either.
  22. Many students have the “guessing disease”. They will guess at any unknown word, substituting another word in its place. We do not let them use strong contextual clues to determine the unknown word.
  23. Children need to reread books and stories but not to the point of memorization. For children that struggle, repeated readings do not always help them become more fluent.
  24. Children should preview the story before reading to get an idea of what the story is about.
  25. To decode unknown words children should use context and phonetic clues.
  26. Children who are having difficulty should read for several, short periods of time.
  27. Children should limit motor movements while reading.
  28. For beginning readers, finger pointing is permissible and encouraged.
  29. For children who are behind their expected grade level, it takes a tremendous amount of work to catch-up to their peers.
  30. Many parents are unable to teach their own child. Do not be discouraged. Children love and want to please their parents. When they have a weakness in a certain area, they will try many ways to avoid demonstrating that particular weakness to the parent they are trying so hard to please. A relationship between a child and teacher is different than a relationship between a child and a parent. Seek help from a degreed professional to remediate the weakness.