Here are some suggestions for improving reading skills:
Read to your child.
Follow the words with your finger as you read them aloud.
Show how the words are read from left to right.
Read from many different genres. A balanced reading "diet" includes poems, rhymes, fairy tales, folktales, legends, fantasy, science fiction, realistic fiction, biographies, autobiographies, chapter books, novels, recipes, instructions, and informational text.-
Find out your child's reading level (Lexile). Many library books are identified by Lexile Level. Choose books on the appropriate level. If there is a special area of high interest, choose books that are a little above that level. For example, if your child loves panda bears and already knows a lot about them, choose a higher level book about that topic.
Have your child read to you. If fluency is a problem, meaning that your child struggles to get the words to flow smoothly, allow your child to read easier, more familiar books. That way, he or she can focus on getting the words out rather than decoding. Poems and song lyrics that are familiar can also be read aloud.
Have a discussion with your child about what he or she read.
Ask questions about the book.
Here are some good questions to ask about a fictional (made up) story or book:
Where and when did the story take place?
Who were the characters in the book?
What were the characters like? (kind...evil...funny...)
Who was the protagonist (good character) and who was the antagonist (bad character)?
What was the problem in the story?
How did the characters try to resolve the problem?
What was the most important event in the story? (the climax)
How was the problem resolved (or how did the characters deal with the events)?
Was there a lesson to be learned from the story?
What was your favorite part?
If you were going to re-write the ending, how would you end the story?
If you were going to write another chapter or a sequel, what would happen next?
Here are some good questions to ask about informational text:
What do you already know about the subject matter of the text?
What would you like to know about the subject matter of the text?
How is the text organized? (Look at headings and subheadings.)
How do the pictures (or other visual aids) help you to understand the text? (captians, graphs, diagrams, insets, maps, etc.)
What new vocabulary words did you find?
What are some interesting facts that you found?
Why do you think the author wrote this book?
Pretend you are a teacher and make a test about the book. Include an answer key.
"Teach" someone else about the material in the book.
