Most of us are stuck at home right now, and if you’ve got kids, there’s a good chance that you are implementing some kind of a homeschool routine, so that they can continue to learn. Being thrown in the deep end like this comes with its advantages and disadvantages.
One disadvantage might be not feeling equipped enough to help your child if they’re struggling to read. Let’s take a look at four tips on how to help a child struggling with reading so that you can feel more confident about your newfound teaching abilities.
1. Figure Out Where They’re at
One of the first things that need to be done when helping your child, who might be struggling to read, is to work out where they are in the learning process.
When figuring out what they already know when it comes to reading, it’s important to identify any strengths or weaknesses that are shining through. It’s also important to figure out technical skills. For example, is your child reading the page from left to right and top to bottom?
2. Use Other Senses
While your child is going to primarily be using their eyes to learn to read, this doesn’t mean that you can’t incorporate other senses to make it a bit easier on them. Whenever it’s possible, try to make reading activities multi-sensory.
If your child is a visual learner, then you might want to think about creating an alphabet chart for them. This way, they can see each letter individually and visualize it as they come together to form words. This will also help them associate the appropriate sounds with the right letters, too.
3. Consider the Readability App
One thing you might be a bit short on right now is time. If you are working from home right now, then you might find yourself juggling the time you’ve allotted to work, with helping your child get better at their reading skills.
One way to get around this time constraint is to incorporate a readability app into their learning schedule. Reading apps can point out where they are struggling, and offer prompts to get them through, particularly difficult sentences. This is a great way to make it easier for your child to learn to read if you’re short on time.
4. Break it Down
One of the things that children get frustrated by the most when they’re trying to learn to read is just how daunting the task is as a whole. If your child is shying away from reading because they see it as a big mountain to overcome, why not break the mountain down into smaller goals that they can tackle without getting overwhelmed?
Try to focus on just one skill at a time, and allow your child the time to learn it inside and out. This way, they will build up the confidence needed to get to their desired reading level.
Teaching your children how to read can be a real struggle – but it doesn’t have to be impossible. Check out these practical tips and watch your child flourish at home.
