{"id":12,"date":"2008-08-27T12:40:52","date_gmt":"2008-08-27T16:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christinewoodcock.com\/blog\/?p=12"},"modified":"2008-08-27T12:40:52","modified_gmt":"2008-08-27T16:40:52","slug":"how-can-we-help-struggling-readers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christinewoodcock.com\/blog\/2008\/08\/how-can-we-help-struggling-readers\/","title":{"rendered":"How can we help struggling readers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

** This originally appeared on QueryCat.com<\/a>. **<\/strong><\/p>\n

For those of you with children at home who tend to struggle with reading, I know what a frustrating, vulnerable process it can be.\u00a0 Our desire to help struggling readers is often over-taken by feelings of inadequacy, or simply just a power of wills.\u00a0 If there is one thing I have learned in my years as a teacher, professor, and reading specialist, it is that reading is a very complex progression, and people don\u2019t always learn to read in the same ways.\u00a0 What works for one child, doesn\u2019t work for another.\u00a0 In this article, I will provide clear-cut, hopeful, and doable suggestions to help your child feel more successful.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cycles of success\u2026 versus failure<\/strong><\/p>\n

The key is this– often times, when a child feels successful, he\/she will have continued success.<\/p>\n

Whether it is reading, or anything else in life, when we feel like a failure, we experience continued failure.\u00a0 When we feel successful, we have continued success.\u00a0 As adults, the more opportunities we provide children to feel triumphant in reading, the more they will want to read, and the more continued progress they will experience in reading.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the tricks is to create occasions for children to feel sincerely successful, which includes finding books they can actually read with a good degree of accuracy and enjoyment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The second trick is to provide children with an array of strategies they can use independently to tackle unknown words.\u00a0 In this way, children then have the confidence they need to navigate the unknown.<\/p>\n

This brings me to my next point\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, what is reading?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In order to help your child, you must know the answer to this complex question.<\/p>\n

Reading is making meaning, not the painful letter-by-letter decoding with which we are all too familiar.<\/p>\n

In our brains, we have what is called a Cognitive Capacity.\u00a0 I simply refer to it as my \u201ccup runneth over!\u201d\u00a0 In other words, when any of us feel frustrated with something, our brain power seizes. There is only so much we can focus on at a given time, and the rest understandably turns to mush.\u00a0 Unfortunately, we have all had what I refer to as a \u201cmeltdown,\u201d when the stress of something just gets to be too much.\u00a0 Typically, and sadly, this is precisely what happens to a struggling reader\u2019s Cognitive Capacity.\u00a0 The child is trying so hard to decode a word– letter by painful letter– that he\/she loses track, and can\u2019t make heads or tails of the entire thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reading (and all learning!) is a \u201cdance of strategies at our fingertips.\u201d\u00a0 Even as adults, we don\u2019t all know every word we encounter\u2014instead we have a hidden plethora of strategies at our fingertips that we use to quickly make analogies and to chunk words into familiar parts.\u00a0 Show your child how you do this!\u00a0 Here are some suggestions:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Go to the dictionary and find some really challenging, long words.\u00a0 Have fun!\u00a0 Laugh at the words.\u00a0 Demonstrate for your child how you break the word down, syllable by syllable, looking for chunks of little words within the big word, which you already know.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 While browsing the Sunday newspaper, purposefully underline long or difficult words in interesting articles.\u00a0 (Children love to read about animals, sports, etc.)\u00a0 Read the article aloud for your child, pausing briefly at each hard word.\u00a0 Explicitly illustrate for your child the strategies you use to figure out that word, then show the child how you go back to re-read, to ensure it all makes sense.\u00a0 Show your child how you look for context clues (words or pictures around the tricky word) to help you determine the word.\u00a0 In essence, you are exhibiting for your child there is absolutely no shame in not knowing a word\u2014instead, we can all feel empowered by having strategies at our fingertips to tackle the word.\u00a0 By modeling and extending explicit strategy use with our children, while reading and writing in authentic contexts, we promote self-monitoring and meaning making.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Prompt your child to use those strategies!<\/p>\n

In order to truly read, we need to be balancing three cues we send to our brains:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 the meaning<\/strong> of the text
\n2.\u00a0 all of structural<\/strong> aspects of the text and the words (looking at the whole word, or the entire sentence)
\n3.\u00a0 and the visual<\/strong> cues (usually pictures or individual letters in words)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unless our brain is balancing all three of those cues, we are not really reading.\u00a0 For example, most commonly, children will zoom through a text, and have no idea what it was about.\u00a0 When the child does encounter an unknown word, he\/she will just look at the first couple of letters in the word, attempt to sound it out, give up, maybe look at a picture for a clue, and then guess the word, even though the word makes little to no sense.\u00a0 That isn\u2019t really reading, and no wonder it\u2019s no fun for your child!\u00a0 His\/her cup runneth over!\u00a0 Your child is only truly reading when he\/she can balance all three of those cues from the brain, looking for meaning, all the structure of the words and sentences, and all of the visual cues, such as the pictures and letters.<\/p>\n

What can you do if your child is still having difficulty with what sounds letters make?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This, of course, is the core of all reading.\u00a0 This is also at the heart of the phonics debate that has been going on for decades.\u00a0 Some children absolutely need explicit phonics instruction, while some children appear to do well without a regimented program.\u00a0 If your child needs more assistance with phonics, there is certainly no shame in this, and it can be really fun!\u00a0 I would recommend the book Phonics They Use<\/a> by Patricia Cunningham.\u00a0 It is a favorite text among educators, and I\u2019m sure parents love it, too, because Cunningham provides loads of fun ways to meaningfully play with letters, their sounds, and the ways words come together.\u00a0 Cunningham\u2019s tone is very down-to-earth, and her phonics games are appropriate for a variety of learners, regardless of age.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Essentially, you want to ensure your child\u2019s phonemic awareness\u2014the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in words.\u00a0 Can your child hear the word \u201ccat\u201d and tell you it has 3 sounds?\u00a0 \u201cC-a-t\u2026 cat!\u201d\u00a0 Can your child stretch words out and put them back together?\u00a0 Have fun with these types of playful activities.\u00a0 Parents often find joy and success by watching educational TV programs such as “Sesame Street” or “Between the Lions” with their children. While watching these programs, pause at key points to explore phonemic awareness with your child.\u00a0 Between the Lions<\/a> also has a wonderful book for parents, which can guide anyone on the path to literacy for their child.<\/p>\n

Remember\u2014this whole article is about children feeling successful, so\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your children need books that they can actually read!<\/em><\/p>\n

A common mistake that can easily be avoided is when books are either too hard or too easy for the reader.\u00a0 I am frequently reminded of the old \u201cGoldilocks and the Three Bears\u201d analogy.\u00a0 You don\u2019t want a book that is too easy, or a book that is too hard, you want one that is \u201cjust right.\u201d\u00a0 I call it \u201cthe zone.\u201d\u00a0 Finding \u201cthe zone\u201d is not always cut and dry, however.\u00a0 Your child\u2019s teacher will be able to help you with knowing this exact level, and should also be able to suggest leveled reading books that your child could read regularly.\u00a0 You could also pick up a book such as Fountas and Pinnell\u2019s Leveled Books, K-8<\/a>, which has a tremendous list of books, all sorted by their various reading levels, so you can ensure your child is reading in his\/her \u201czone\u201d and proudly watch the zone soar as the child improves.\u00a0 There is nothing more rewarding!<\/p>\n

As you help your child select books, please take context and personal passions into consideration.\u00a0 Remember, reading is fun, so finding topical books, at a reading level that is comfortable for your child, will make a world of difference, and your child will actually want to read!<\/p>\n

When choosing books, among other factors, consider a text\u2019s:<\/strong><\/p>\n