Reading Tips

Have your child read aloud to you every night.

Choose a quiet place for your child to read – free from distractions.

As your child reads, point out spelling and sound patterns such as cat, pat, hat.

If your child encounters a word they are unfamiliar with, encourage them to look for a smaller word hiding inside the word; for example catch – students can sound out cat and then add the -ch digraph

Another strategy when encountering an unfamiliar word is to skip the word and continue reading.  Go back to the unfamiliar word and see what makes sense.

When your child makes a mistake, point out the word he/she missed and help your child read the word correctly.

After your child stops to correct a word, have them go back and reread the entire sentence from beginning to end to make sure they understand the meaning of the sentence.

Ask your child to tell you in their own words what happened in the story.

Encourage your child to identify the characters, setting and problem in the story.

To check for understanding, pause occasionally to ask your child questions about the characters and events in the story.

Ask your child to tell you why they think a character acted a certain way in the story and why.

Before your child gets to the end of the story, ask them what they think might happen next and why.