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One of the most powerful ways a parent can help their child become a fluent reader with good comprehension skills is to read aloud to them and with them. Since students in Room 17 are required to read at least 20 minutes a day, these minutes can be used as golden time for parents and children to read together. This is especially important for readers who might be challenged with decoding words or who lack the motivation to read, and they will enjoy reading much more than if they are told to sit in a corner to read by themselves.
1) Echo reading. As the more experienced reader, parents can model for their children, reading a short passage first. They can demonstrate how to pronounce difficult words, how to use phrasing, intonation, and expression when reading a piece of dialogue, a phrase, or a sentence. The child listens, then repeats what the adult just read, pointing at the words if necessary. 2) Reading in unison. Sit with your child and read the same section of text at the same time. Point at the words with your index finger as you read, reading at a slightly faster pace than your child and encourage him or her to try and keep up with you. The idea is to connect the flow of spoken language with the flow of the text on the page. 3) I Read, You Read. The child or the parent reads a page or a paragraph, then their partner reads the next page or paragraph. A variation of this strategy would be to have one person read a paragraph and the partner read the same paragraph. The second variation is especially useful when working on fluency. The parent reads first, and the child is able to hear the pace, intonation, and correct words so they can read like their parent. 4) Check for Understanding. This comprehension strategy is used in Room 17 for students to self-monitor the meaning of what they are reading. One partner reads out loud while the other actively listens and checks for understanding. When the reading partner comes to the end of a sentence, page, or paragraph, the listener summarizes what the reader read and says, "I just heard you read . . . ." Even advanced readers, whom I find still need considerable support with comprehension, can benefit from the above strategies. It is also possible for a child to read words quite accurately yet have no understanding of the text they've read. I intend to add more suggestions to help students improve their reading in the future, and I'll be keeping you posted on strategies and literacy activities we're doing in Room 17, so stay tuned. Happy reading! Some most excellent strategies to use when reading with a child at home -- written by a National Board certified reading teacher who uses these strategies with her own children.
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