is no to most of these , take some time to get ready for reading . And be sure the entire process is positive and enjoyable .
2 . Keep a reading / writing center in your home filled with supplies . You might include all kinds of paper , pens , markers , crayons , scissors , tape and glue , pipe cleaners , envelopes , stamps and stamp pads , etc . Children love to make their own books and write their own stories .
3 . Read favorite books over and over again . Stop and let your child fill in the words . Allow them to memorize the book and “ read ” it themselves . This kind of practice is confidence-building and sets the stage for independent reading lessons .
4 . Once you ’ re working on early reading material , remember good readers use a variety of strategies to solve problems . As adults we do this without giving the process much thought . Here are some of the strategies we use when we come upon a new or difficult word . Your child should use these too .
• We go back and reread to make sense .
• We break the word into chunks and read the parts we already know .
• We read past the word to see what might make sense in that place .
• We read carefully all the way through the word , part by part .
• We use picture clues and other prompts from the text .
• We ask ourselves questions such as “ Does that make sense ?” “ Would that work ?” “ Does that sound right ?”
5 . Choose the right reading level for your child . Children need some books to practice on their own that are familiar and easy . They also need books at their “ instructional level ,” which means books with a few challenges . When they are working on these more difficult books , you need to be with them asking questions , prompting with correct strategies and available to prevent reading frustrations . Allowing a wait time of 8-10 seconds before stepping in with a prompt gives the reader time to try some strategies on his or her own .
6 . Avoid labeling your reader with words that compare . They ’ re on the road to reading and it ’ s not important if they ’ re learning as quickly as another person .
7 . Be sure the culture of your home is pro-reading . Use your local library to enrich your home with good reading material . Newspapers , magazines , baseball cards , maps , are all reading material too . Your children should see you reading for enjoyment and there should be read-aloud times every day . Family read-alouds with time for discussion are a wonderful incentive for young readers to work hard to become fluent themselves .
8 . Retelling a story out loud is a great way for children to gain the meaning of the story . They ’ ll become familiar with characters , settings and the action line with a beginning , middle and end .
9 . Make reading fun with extensions and activities related to the stories they love . Let them draw , act out the story , make mobiles , puppets and all manner of art projects related to the characters and action of a favorite book . Make charts and graphs to depict the characters , setting and storyline . Compare and contrast , chart the action , decide to change the ending or write new characters into the book .
10 . Choose quality materials . Become familiar with great authors and illustrators . You can find lists of classic children ’ s literature at
www . ala . org . This is the national organization for libraries . Look for books that have earned awards such as the Caldecott awards for illustrations and Newbery Awards for excellence in literature .
It ’ s a joy to watch children become fluent readers , but it can be a challenge to work daily with those children who struggle to learn . In most cases lots of practice at the appropriate reading levels will provide growth over time . You may want to write a few books about your own family members and make that the reading practice of the day . Familiar names , places and activities will make the story much more engaging . Your child will pick up on your enthusiasm for reading .
Your reward ? Happy successful learners .
Jan Pierce , M . Ed ., is a retired teacher and a reading specialist . She is the author of Homegrown Readers : Simple Ways to Help Your Child Learn to Read and writes parenting , education and family life articles . Find her at
www . janpierce . net .
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