If your child is still struggling with reading after this school year, summer can be an ideal time to try to catch-up or at least maintain skills. It is critical to be proactive as recent research shows that if a child is not caught up in reading by the end of third grade, only 5% ultimately catch-up.
Be Clear as to How They are Struggling with Reading
It’s important to clarify how a child struggles with reading. For example, are they a choppy reader and struggling with reading fluency? If so, they likely have difficulties recognizing and decoding words.
Maybe they read fluently but have difficulty with reading comprehension – retaining or understanding what they are reading.
Understanding how reading is difficult is key.
Tips for Summer Reading
This summer, you can implement a plan at home to help with reading:
- Schedule consistent daily reading between 20-30 minutes. Research shows daily consistent reading is better than sporadic reading for longer periods of time.
- Read to them or practice echo reading
- Choose books below their frustration level to help build confidence, reading fluency and enjoyment.
- Spend time discussing what you read. Ask them questions about the content. Good questions can help them understand what to be looking for when reading and build reading comprehension.
- Make reading a normal part of daily life, not an event. For example, read road signs, recipes, graphic novels and other items you encounter throughout the day.
Reading Skills Start in the Brain
These strategies can help, but if your loved one is experiencing consistent reading difficulties, identifying the root cause is critical. The root cause is usually brain based, meaning weaker cognitive skills are driving the reading difficulty. If these weaker skills are not identified and strengthened, kids often continue to struggle with reading as expectations increase.
Reading Skills Assessment
An ideal first step is to schedule a cognitive skills assessment at the LearningRx Eagan center. This 60-minute assessment will provide a wealth of knowledge and provide insights as to the root cause of the reading difficulty. Once identified, these skills can be trained and strengthened to unlock reading abilities!