Reading At Home With Your Child
This is helpful for struggling readers.

How to go about it:

• Have your child read aloud to you.
• Read aloud to your child. Read one page each, taking turns.
• Share the reading time by sitting together without distractions.
• Either parent, or both, can be a reading partner. Grandparent?
• At the end of 15 minutes, if your child wants to continue reading,
• by all means encourage your child to do so.
• Have fun. Keep the atmosphere positive.

Tips for parents as reading partners:

1.      Establish the right atmosphere:

·        Make reading an enjoyable experience.

·        Have books and reading materials in visible spots.

·        Use the Five Finger method of choosing a book suitable for your child to read aloud. Choose any page, have the child begin to read it aloud. For each word the child doesn’t know, hold up one finger. By the end of the page, you should have five or less fingers up. If more, the book is too difficult for the child to read aloud. Success is important.

2.     Create excitement:

·        Begin reading a story and stop before it’s finished. Have your child finish the story. Read together to see how the author finished it.

·        Read with expression. Change your voice for different characters and vary your voice volume and speed.

3.     Offer positive comments:

·        Build confidence by praising any reading your child does. Each and every bit of reading makes your child a better reader.

·        Please remember there is a difference between encouragement and pressure. Each child needs to experience success.

·        Never use reading as a punishment.