Hello,
The March edition of The Reading Teacher has some excellent and very user friendly tips for parents to try at home with their struggling reader.
Often, the struggling reader is not interested in reading books in general. But, if you try a variety of reading materials you will probably hit upon something that interests your child. For example, magazines for children, (Cricket, Spider, and Ask to name a few are great!), child-friendly websites (SleepyBearWrites.blogspot.com and MooseyMooseWrites.blogspot.com), graphic novels, and even brochures!
Once your child is reading interesting texts, you will find that your child enjoys reading more. In turn, she will want to read more, thus increasing the volume of reading! Along the way it is wise to decrease the expectations of your struggling reader. For example, decrease the number of pages to read each day. Lessening the pressure to read more will help make the reading process more enjoyable.
Lastly, encourage your child to re-read books. They can be books a teacher has read to the whole class or a book she read from the previous year on her own. Your child will already have the background knowledge of the story allowing her to focus on her own accuracy, rate, and phrasing and expression.
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
