As we all well know, humans are generally not motivated to participate in something they have previously failed many times at. Add along with that, the fact that most often, your student is reading in school, surrounded by many peers whose opinions he/she greatly admires. To top that off, depending on what age your child is, he/she may be getting picked on in school for being a struggling reader. Middle and High school students often seem to be especially cruel to one another. All of these things combined, create a great need for confidence in your child, in order to motivate him/her to continue reading.
Confidence can be created, no matter what the background of the child’s reading experiences. Encourage your child to keep trying. Praise the effort he/she makes, whether or not the reading was fluent. Encourage risk-taking and personal connections to the stories. Discuss what he/she has read each time. Move beyond the question and answer worksheets and go in-depth into the stories, encouraging your child to take a greater interest in the story. Be sure that whatever your child is reading, is appropriate for him/her. Appropriate literature is something that is at his/her independent reading level. Be sure to speak with your child’s teacher if you need help determining your child’s independent reading level. Allow your child to have time alone to read. While reading out loud is very good practice for struggling readers, it is also extremely good for them to have some time alone for personal reading as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment