Reading Strategies

At times you will find a paper made reader in your child’s “Return to School” slot of his or her homework folder.  After your child reads this book to you, please sign or initial the cover of the book. 

Helping your child become a better reader

Adults often ask children to "sound out" unknown words, and with prompting children are often successful. But when this strategy does not work and a child (or adult) becomes impatient, parents often tell the word to their child. But, if we want children to become independent readers it is very important that students develop a repertoire of word solving strategies. Here is a list of suggestions that you can use at home to help your child develop strong word solving strategies.

• Wait at least 10 seconds to see what attempts are made. Ask: What makes sense?
• Skip the word and read on to the end of the sentence. Go back and reread to see what makes sense
• Look carefully at the word. Put your finger on the word. Ask: What letters does it start with? What letters does it end with?
• Look for smaller words inside a bigger one.
• Cover the word endings (-ed, -ing, etc.) with your finger and try the word
• Help with blending (sounding out) the word
• If the word was on a previous page, go back and locate it
• Use word chunks or word families (-ike, -ight, etc.)
• Reread parts or passages to increase understanding, especially after solving unknown words
• Use pictures on the page to help figure out the word

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