Here are some reading tips to help you and your child!

Read text that is not frustrating. If you make more that 5 mistakes every 100 words the text is to hard.

When you come to a word you don't know try to sound it out, try using the picture clues, do you see a word you know inside your word, and last go to the end of the sentence and come back to the word what would make sense and have those sounds.

Read a variety of text like fiction, nonfiction, poetry, biographies, mysteries, etc.

Reading activities to do with the books your child brings home from school

Echo Read: You read one line, and the child reads the same line after you. Increase the number of lines you read at one time as the child’s reading improves. To be sure the child is looking at the words, ask him or her to follow the print with a finger. Try to echo-read at least one story each week.

Choral Reading: You and your child read the same text aloud together. Choral reading should be done at least twice a week.

Partner Reading: You and your child take turns reading. Start by reading one sentence and asking the child to read the next sentence. As the child’s fluency improves, you read a page and she/he reads a page. Partner-read about once a week.

Repeated Reading: Read the same book or story more than once in the same week.

Remember: Whenever you read with your child, use as much expression as you can so that your reading sounds like speaking and the story comes alive.

Comprehension is also an important part of reading so ask your child questions about what she or he has read. Discuss the characters in the story, the story setting, what happened first, next and last. How does the story relate to something they already know?

Fluency is a big predictor of reading success. A way you can check fluency at home is as follows.

1. Tape record you child reading a short passage.
2. Several months later tape reading another reading with the same story.
3. Play the two recordings to listen for improvement.
4. Evaluate each reading as needs work, good or excellent.

Needs work: Reading is word by word, slow and choppy, with some words missed and not enough expression to show an understanding of the text.

Good: The pace of the reading is slow but not choppy. Most words are pronounced properly with enough expression to show some understanding of the text.

Excellent: Reading flows smoothly at a good pace. All the words are decoded properly, and expression demonstrates an understanding of what is being read.