Is your child reading on grade level? Many parents would say so. Sometimes, children can be struggling with reading, but have found ways to adapt, making it harder or a parent to identify the issues.
“One of the best ways a parent can see if their child is reading is just by talking to them about books they are reading,” Jennifer Burchfield, instructional strategy director of early learning of Dallas Independent School District said.
So what can parents and guardians do to help?
“If your child is a reluctant reader, maybe you can take turns reading with them. I’ll read one sentence and you read another. I’ll read one page and you read the other,” Burchfield said.
There is also a solution for children who don’t seem interested in reading at all.
“I would suggest seeing what they are interested in. If they are interested in skateboards, then we need to get some books on skateboards. If they are interested in cooking, then let’s get some cookbooks out,” Burchfield said.
There are so many aspects to reading and one of the most important ones is reading comprehension. It’s an important part of reading many young students have trouble with.
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"They read great but they didn’t understand anything they are reading,” Burchfield said. “Not so much what color was the girl’s shirt, but more like what do you think is going to happen next. So it’s so important to stop and ask kids about what happened in the story. I suggest you chunk it into smaller pieces. You can have them read just a sentence or two and asking them about what they read."
Burchfield said parents should also remember, just like most things in life, practice makes perfect. “One of the best resources right now is the Dallas Public Library. They have many locations across the city that have drop-off locations where you can go online and reserve those books and then you can get those books at home for a kid to look through and read,” Burchfield said.
