Parents often ask, "How can I help my child become a better reader?" Motivation is the main key. Find books, magazines, web sites, etc. that your child is interested in. Following are some basic strategies that parents can use at home to help reinforce what students learn at school. (See "GAMES" at the bottom for fun ways to help students practice these strategies.)
PREDICT - Students become Peter or Paula Predictor
Making predictions before reading text helps set a purpose for reading and helps activate reading skills. Ask you child the following questions before they read a chapter or section of text:
"What do you think will happen (next)?
"What else do you think we are going to (or should) find out?"
"What makes you think that?"
QUESTION - Students become Quincy or Quinella Questioner
Students should learn to ask themselves questions before, during, and after reading text. Quite often this is a natural occurance that students are not aware of. Ask these questions to help students develop this reading strategy:
"Who do you think....?"
"What do you imagine...?"
"When did...?"
"Where did...?"
"Why do you think...?" (This is the higher-level thinking we want children to develop.)
"How did...?"
CLARIFY - Students become Carl or Clara Clarifier
Students don't always understand words or phrases that they read. Some students just skip them entirely, not caring to find out what they mean. Others stop reading when encountering an unknown word (or meaning), which stops fluent comprehension. Here are some questions to help students develop clarifying skills:
"Are there any words or phrases you didn't understand?" if s/he says that s/he understood EVERYTHING, pick out a few words or phrases from their text and ask them to define or explain, as if helping a 1st grader understand. If s/he can't do this, ask them to do one of the following: reread the word, skim further for clues, ask you for help (last resort). Ask your child again to define or explain after s/he has reread or skimmed or asked you for help. Verbalizing understanding helps with reading skills.
"Were there any parts that didn't make sense to you?"
SUMMARIZE - Students become Sammy or Sari Summarizer
This is an important reading comprehension skill to develop. Students should be able to briefly tell about what they read. Ask these questions:
"What were the most important things that you read?
"Tell me, in your own words, what you just read."
"Who are the main characters?"
"What is the setting? Where is this taking place?"
"Was there a problem presented in your story?"
"Was there a solution to the problem in your story?"
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
MODEL - Read aloud to your child.
PREDICT - After your child summarizes a section, YOU make a prediction and see what s/he thinks.
QUESTION - Ask questions about what your child is telling you about his/her story.
CLARIFY - "That word is tricky. I would figure it out by..."
SUMMARY - Rephrase what your child has summarized for you to see if you understood it. Often the student will give greater details when s/he realizes that you don't really have a full understanding from their short summary.
GAMES
Read aloud to your child and make mistakes on purpose (child needs to be following the text as you read). Your child corrects you and gets a point for each mistake that is corrected. Then, have your child take his/her turn reading and making mistakes on purpose while you make corrections.
Take turns reading. It can be every other word, every other sentence, every other line, every other paragraph, or every other page. The first one emphasize decoding of words rather than comprehension, but makes for fun read-together time for children who have a hard time reading.
Make a "spinner" by cutting out a round piece of paper, using a pen divide it into fourths (like a pie) and label the sections: predict, question, clarify, summarize. Using a brad, secure a pointer to the center of the circle. Use the spinner to select reading strategies for your child to use before, during, and after reading a section of text.