This question comes up surprisingly often. Concerned parents, who are worried about their child’s reading, are keen to do the right thing at home, but it can be difficult to identify the most effective approach. It’s not easy for parents to put themselves into the position where they’re actively ‘teaching’ their child. Some manage fantastically, but for some, it just doesn’t work – even when they’re qualified teachers! It’s just not the right kind of relationship in some cases.
Also, by definition, struggling readers struggle to read! I know that sounds very obvious, but think about what that actually means from the child’s point of view.
I have to do all of this reading at school, which I find really difficult and tiring. Then I have to do the same thing at home. I’m beginning to hate books!
The other big issue is one of level. We’re going to explain our concept of the ‘Reading Ladder’ to illustrate this one:
This illustration explains the situation for a 12-year-old who is struggling with reading. Imagine they are currently reading at an 8-year-old level.
This level of discrepancy (between reading age and actual age) is not that unusual in schools!
Imagine this learner tackling one of his reading books – designed for an 8-year reading age. These are the factors which will affect him:
In reality, this is a totally negative process for this learner. So why do we do it?
Well, many schools/teachers work on the premise that a struggling reader needs more reading. In fact, this is rarely the answer.
Some fascinating American research shows that about 60% of learners progress with literacy regardless of method. With these learners, it really doesn’t matter what method is used – they are the ones who do learn to read through reading.
However, around 40% need a more structured method and some of them – particularly the dyslexics – will need considerably more structure. Actually, these learners learn to read more effectively through a spelling-based approach – providing it’s done in the right way.
So how do we use this knowledge to support our children at home? Well, this is what we’d recommend:
Your main aim is to get your child to love books!
Bear in mind that there are two aspects to reading
The mechanical process of reading. In other words, either: Decoding Word recognition |
and...
What we’d describe as the ‘intellectual’ aspects: Sense/meaning Vocabulary and comprehension Enjoyment of the content |
Comprehension, vocabulary, enjoyment of the content all come from exposure to the more formal language of books. It doesn’t mean that you have to read all the words yourself. You can get those aspects by listening to a story or book.
Main resources:
So, are we saying it’s not important to practise reading books?
No, we’re not. We need to work on both aspects – the mechanical aspects and the intellectual ones.
However, with learners in this category, they are likely to progress through a more spelling-based approach, providing that it’s done in the right way, with all words seen and used in context and the right activities to develop all the skills needed for reading.
The biggest dangers are:
This blog is too short to go into the right way of teaching spelling, but our other materials cover this. However, in the meantime, these are our recommendations for parents:
Remember: If you’re teaching spelling in the right way, you’re teaching all of the skills and knowledge needed for reading. With the right resources, you’re also developing the area of the brain needed for instant visual recognition of words – which is vital for reading fluency.
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