23-03-2024

Education Opinion

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Tips for Teaching Children Who Have Trouble Reading

3 min read

As any long-time educator can attest, children learn to read at wildly different paces. While some students absorb reading lessons right away, others take much longer to develop solid reading skills. In many cases, being unable to read at a level consistent with one’s peers can cause big problems for kids. Not only does this stand to affect their progress on the reading and writing front, it can also hinder their understanding of other subjects. While there’s no denying that some kids simply possess stronger reading skills than others, all students should be comfortably proficient in this area. Teachers looking for effective ways to help students who experience difficulty with reading should consider the following tips.

Daily Practice

When learning a crucial skill like reading, daily practice is absolutely essential. The more practice students have, the more likely they are to digest and internalize the material at an organic pace. With this in mind, make a point of devoting a chunk of class time to reading and writing each day. Going days between lessons only increases the likelihood of students forgetting important information and shifting their focus to other subjects. Additionally, before moving on to other lessons, confirm that your class is comfortable enough with the material you just covered to proceed any further.

The Right Materials

When it comes to building reading comprehension, there’s no substitute for patience and expertise on the part of teachers. However, this isn’t to say that the right materials don’t also play a crucial role. For many educators, investing in good teacher resources can mean the difference between success and failure. The teaching materials you use for reading comprehension should be engaging, easy to grasp and intellectually stimulating. Materials that try to do too much at once can overwhelm and confuse students, ultimately hindering their overall progress.

Provide Incentive

In order to become motivated, most people need to feel like they’re working toward something – and this is particularly true in the case of children. As such, providing your students with incentives to excel in their reading lessons can prove beneficial to both teachers and children. Instead of working toward a far-off goal, students need to feel as if a tangible reward awaits them in the near future. For example, for each lesson that’s successfully completed, you can award your class an extra recess, a movie or a tasty treat. Incentives vary from class to class, but as long as your students feel like their hard work is leading to an attainable reward, they’re liable to be very amenable to reading lessons.

For many children, learning how to read can be an uphill battle. Although some kids are able to soak up reading lessons like a sponge, others become overwhelmed and quickly fall behind. To make matters worse, students experiencing difficulty with reading lessons don’t always speak up and request assistance. Fortunately, there are a number of effective steps teachers can take when helping their students with reading comprehension. Educators looking for practical ways to keep their students on the same page should heed the pointers discussed above.

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