Teaching My Child Valuable Skills

Posted on: 28 January 2020

Part of most school reading curriculums is daily reading completed at home or during quiet, reading-only time at school. For some kids, reading at home is no problem, but for struggling readers, this assignment is a chore. Parents can do a lot to help a child who is struggling to keep up with the demands of a school reading curriculum. If your school-aged child is struggling a little with reading, there are a lot of things you can do to help. Some children do not take to reading quickly, so they start to see it as a chore instead of as something that is fun. Here are some simple tips to help your child become a better reader.

Read to your child.

Reading to your child takes the chore away but still provides a lot of the benefits of putting words together to form a story. If your child is old enough, such as if they are in second or third grade, you might try reading simple chapter books together to take away the pictures, which helps your child learn to visualize without help. Read to your child every day. Ask your child's teacher what books might help them to do better with reading assessments in the classroom. 

Get a home reading curriculum.

There are a lot of resources online to help children read at home. You might get a supplementary reading curriculum to work with your child on their reading at home. Some of these curriculums take a different approach to reading than the traditional classroom does, and you might find that alternative reading methods are beneficial for your child. 

Find books on subjects your child is interested in.

Some kids do not like reading because they think it is boring. Active children, for example, might be more interested in going outside to explore. Other kids might prefer video games. To make reading more appealing, try and find material that is actually interesting to your child. If you have a girl who is all about sports, try finding some kids sports magazines for her to look at. If your son likes bugs and science, you might get some non-fiction books from the library that teach cool facts about the world. Your local librarian can help you find books that are at your child's current reading level. 

Limit screen time. 

Screen time is a passive activity. Instead of teaching your child to think, it teaches your child to be entertained. There is nothing wrong with a movie every once in a while, but children who spend a lot of time on television and computers actually have different brain development, which can make reading more challenging. As you reduce screen time, your child will be able to fill that time with other interests, including books. When your child does use a computer or tablet, provide reading games that can help your child learn. 

Model reading in your life.

Are you a good example of reading? Try to show your child how useful reading is. For example, when your child has a question about how something works, you could go together to find a book at the library that answers the question instead of just asking Alexa or Google. Mention things that you learned to your child from reading. For example, you might say, "I learned something really interesting today when I was reading an article in the newspaper. Did you know someone found a new set of dinosaur bones?" Then talk about what you read with your child. 

To learn more about 2nd-grade reading curriculum, contact a lesson planner.