Raising a Reader

Today's tip for

Raising A Reader

is to:

Have The Kids Read Books At Their Reading Level

If a book is too difficult to read then it will not be enjoyable and the child will not understand what he or she is reading. If the child spends the whole time sounding out words then her comprehension will suffer. And what is the point of reading if you don't understand? At that point the kids just get frustrated and they begin to say that they don't enjoy reading. Well, of course they don't! They're not experiencing getting caught up in a story because they don't understand the story. 

So, how do you determine if a book is too difficult for a child to read? 

Give It A High Five!

Open the book with your child. Open to a page, any page. Have the child read that page. If there are more than five words on that page that the child needs to sound out, or doesn't know the meaning of, then that particular book is too difficult. Yes, he might be sad because all his friends are reading it and he really wants to, but you have to be strong. I promise, he will not enjoy it if he gets frustrated. Sometimes that can be a huge motivation for kids to improve their reading. And, there is always the option of you reading that book to him!

I hope this helps!

Happy Reading!