5 Tips For Helping Your Struggling Reader
5 Tips For Helping Your Struggling Reader
Whether you’re a teacher trying to help a struggling reader at school or a parent helping a struggling reader at home, teaching reading is a big process! There’s a few things that can help the process and keep your student from feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. Keep on reading to find out 5 tips to help your struggling reader.
Build your students' reading confidence
Build their reading confidence
Many of the students I’ve worked with as a kindergarten and first grade teacher needed help boosting their reading confidence. I noticed a bigger lack of reading confidence this year after the pandemic. My first graders were kindergartners last year and had virtual learning and the reading instruction wasn’t always what it should be. I taught virtually and although no one is to blame, it's been a tough year boosting kids’ reading confidence and catching them up. Reading confidence is how the reader feels about their reading abilities. Reading books that are a just right fit is a great place to start so the student can feel confident while reading. This would be a book that they’ve practiced before and know how to read. I always recommend starting with a familiar book so the student doesn’t feel discouraged from the start.
Scaffold their reading so they can be successful
Scaffold their reading so they can be successful
It’s tempting to tell kids the word when they’re struggling. Remember to have them sound out words they don’t know and if it’s a word they can’t sound out, like a sight word, then talk about that word and how to remember it. Talk about high frequency words before you start reading. This helps your students have familiarity with the book before they read. You can also do a picture walk before you read the words to help the student know what the story is going to be about.
Reading interest trumps reading ability
Interest trumps ability
One of my favorite college professors would say this all the time in our teaching of reading courses. Interest trumps ability means letting students choose books not only based on their ability, but also what they’re interested in. Some teachers feel like students shouldn’t check out books they can’t read. I disagree. I think each student should have a few books they can read independently and if they want a book based on interest, to go ahead and let them get it. Discouraging students to put a book back because they can’t read it yet will squash their desire to become a reader.
Build confidence by practicing sight words as a warm-up
Build confidence by practicing sight words as a warm-up
If you’re looking for a way to incorporate sight word practice into your daily schedule, read this blog post. Practicing sight words (a few at a time) before reading will help your students feel more confident reading a new book or even one they’re familiar with. Feeling confident with sight words helps with the fundamentals of reading so our students can read and write these key words before they head off to second grade.
Model a love for reading for your students with a daily read aloud
Model a love for reading for your students with a daily read aloud
I know the quote “readers are leaders” is one you’ve heard often, but it’s so true. If our students see us reading at home as a parent or our teacher talking about a book they live, we are modeling a love of reading. As a classroom teacher, I love showing my students my love of reading by doing a daily read aloud and making them feel a part of the story.
So there you have it, 5 ways to help your struggling reader at school or home. Remember to make reading fun and hire a tutor if it’s becoming a fight at home to practice reading!
Come back to this blog post and let me know how these activities worked for your students!
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