5 Can’t Miss Ways to Improve Reading

It is time to go back to school! (Hard to believe, right?!)  Keep those reading skills sharp all year long with a solid routine and these easy-to-follow tips.

1. Create a special space for reading: Make this space warm and inviting. Put comfortable chairs, pillows and/or blankets in a designated area. This spot should be free from extra noise, toys, and other distractions. Make sure there are plenty of books available in this area.

2. Visit your local library: Talk to your librarian about your child’s current reading level and areas of interest and they should be able to direct you to a book or a book series that would be perfect for your child. This will help keep the reading level appropriate while matching their skills to ensure that the book’s difficulty level is not to low or too high.

3. Choral or echo read with your child: Choral reading is when the adult and child read at the same time. This helps the child hear the correct word and keep moving if they are unsure. Echo reading is when the adult reads a line and the child repeats it. Both strategies help create a positive reading experience for the child and remove some of the pressure. This time is not meant for correcting errors.

4. Have your child read to a pet: Having a child read to a pet, younger (non-reader) sibling, or even their stuffed animals promotes reading fluency and oral reading without feeling like they will be corrected if they are wrong. The audience simply won’t know if they are incorrect.
5. Be a good example: Get caught reading! Set aside a time of day when the whole family turns off the TV, stops doing chores and simply enjoys reading together.