At RJ Grey, students often have some kind of reading homework in any given subject. Sometimes that reading isn't easy! Here are some steps for helping your child if the reading homework gets tough.
1. Look over what your child is reading to get a sense of what it's about. (You can always go back and read it more closely later on if needed.)
2. Chat about it: have your child summarize what he or she thinks are the main points of the reading. Ask your child to point out words, sentences, or paragraphs that he/she finds confusing. Simply talking about the reading is often enough to help a student understand it more clearly.
3. Help your child pay attention to text features like bold headings, photos, illustrations, captions, diagrams, italic/bold words, etc.
4. Formulate questions with your child to guide him/her to a better understanding of the reading.
5. If both you and your child are still stumped, help him/her be prepared to ask questions the following day. Have your child mark the reading or use sticky notes to show exactly what parts of the reading were difficult to understand, and jot down questions about these parts of the reading. The next day, your child should show his/her teacher which parts of the reading were confusing, and ask his/her questions about those parts.
6. Another idea to help your child understand his/her reading homework is to do an internet search on the same topic. Look for easier articles, information, and educational videos that will help your child understand his or her assigned reading.
7. Be sure your child is doing the "active reading" strategies if assigned by the teacher. Even if not specifically assigned, active reading strategies can help with any type of reading.