Helpful Reading Strategies

Below are some simple, yet helpful reading strategies that will assist in improving fluency and comprehension.

Fluency:

1) Repeated Reading- have your child reread a short story or reading passage to you on a nightly basis at least three times.

2) Read Aloud- have your child read a short story to you about something that interests them.

3) 1 Minute Read- have your child read a passage to you and see how many words they can read in 1 minute. Next time, try to get them to beat their score.

4) Popcorn Reading- take turns reading a story with your child. (1 sentence at a time, 1 paragraph at a time, or 1 page at a time)

5) Choral Reading- read a particular story or reading passage together in unison.

Comprehension:

1) Retell- after reading a story, have your child retell you what the story was about using their own words.

2) Sequencing- after reading a story, have your child tell you what happened first, next, then, and last.

3) Picture Walk- before reading a story, have your child look only at the pictures in the story. They can then guess or predict what the story will be about.

4) Story Elements- after reading a story, have your child identify the story elements (plot, setting, characters). They can also talk about how the plot, setting, and characters are connected.

5) Summarize- after reading, summarize the main idea of the story. Have your child support their answer with details from the story.