Supporting a Struggling Reader at Home
Learning to read requires the human brain to basically re-wire itself, creating new neural pathways and connections as the learning progresses. It’s nothing short of astonishing that it happens fairly seamlessly in some children. For many others, a structured, multisensory, evidence-based curriculum, with repetition upon repetition is required to unlock the mechanics. Either way, the process takes years to truly become automatic, and every child benefits from a more comprehensive pedagogical approach.
Parents of struggling readers, especially, can implement a number of strategies at home to make the “magic” happen. Simply having a home filled with books and cosy reading nooks, while lovely, is not enough. As Dr. Timothy Shanahan, a leading literary expert put it, the ingredients for solid reading instruction are to, “explicitly teach kids to hear the sounds in words (phonemic awareness), to decode (phonics), to read text aloud accurately, with appropriate speed and with expression (fluency), to know the meanings of words, and to use reading strategies when reading text in order to understand it better (reading comprehension)” (ReadingRockets.org, 2017). To that end, as a reading specialist and parent myself, here are some easily implemented tactics to weave into daily life to set the stage for success whatever your child’s learning profile.
Maintain a Home-School Partnership: This is paramount. If your child is experiencing difficulty in developing reading skills, he or she should be receiving direct, small group instruction in a phonics-based, structured literacy curriculum. Advocating for your child about the appropriate curriculum and requesting academic support and modifications is all aided by open, cordial dialogue. Teachers can be very specific about strategies that will reinforce classroom instruction, as well as suggestions for implementing daily routines that will help a child feel prepared for the day ahead. When a child perceives teachers and parents being on the same page, he/she is provided with an invaluable sense of security.
Phonemic Awareness Activities: Simply put, this means playing oral sound games. Count sounds in words, change sounds in words, flip and omit sounds and syllables to make new words, even nonsense words. Any games that get kids aware that words are made up of different sounds and being able to manipulate those sounds orally is terrific practice, especially for young children, and can be played anywhere and anytime ( in the car, before bed, during meals, etc…).
Sound/Symbol Associations: Associate sounds with the letters and/or letter combinations that represent them. Post alphabet picture cards around your home, label household items, point out environmental print. Connecting the printed version of sounds to daily life, i.e. seeing letters, saying the sounds together and practicing sky writing a letter or word in the air makes it multisensory. When we teach a child to distinguish sounds in words orally, we are essentially teaching them to encode. You are gently reinforcing what is being taught at school, which can significantly bolster confidence.
Read Aloud: Every day, whenever and wherever possible. Reading aloud from picture books and chapter books allows a child to experience stories and narratives that they can’t yet read themselves. It’s a crucial way to increase background knowledge about the world and open new thought avenues through literature. Visit libraries and bookstores regularly for inspiration and discoveries. Don’t underestimate picture books with their substantial narrative structure accompanied by beautiful illustrations and a rich, stimulating vocabulary. Books by William Steig, Virginia Lee Burton, James Marshall and Jane O’Connor are some standouts, but there is no end to the treasures out there. Also, many classic children’s stories are abridged and illustrated. For young children, the Richard Scarry books are great because so many of the illustrations are labeled. Pause frequently to ask questions to check a child’s understanding, retell events, and make connections and predictions. Your child is most likely practicing decoding skills with phonetically controlled books from school. It is so important that he or she has time to practice reading them aloud to you, focusing on decoding the words sound by sound, over and over again, (again- sweet repetition) to develop fluency. As they acquire facility with text, partner-read with your child (i.e you read a paragraph aloud, they read a paragraph aloud), or they reread the paragraph you just read. It all helps, and giving your child these opportunities with patience and gentle encouragement is a true gift.
Audio Books: Audio books are a fabulous way to expose a child to rich, wonderful stories, classics, and contemporary ones, narrated by talented actors using all sorts of voices. The Cricket in Times Square (Seldon) audiobook is particularly wonderful because it combines beautiful classical music and a great storyline. Pause at regular intervals to discuss the plot, the setting, sequence events, character development, make predictions, …anything. Pause also to have your child retell events regularly. When your child moves into more independent reading at home, have them listen to the audio version while simultaneously reading the hard copy in hand. This is excellent scaffolding for a struggling reader. The more exposure to spoken language, the better.
Dedicated Homework Area and Organizational Routine: Essentially, the main goal of homework, especially in elementary school, is for a child to learn to generate a decent piece of work independently. This takes time (months and years!), especially for a struggling student. Work with your child’s teacher to put modifications in place if necessary. Also, set up a designated work area that is well-lit, quiet enough, with a helpful adult close by, and with materials at hand. Whether it’s the kitchen table, the child’s room, or the family room, make sure there is a desk or table for a flat surface, a comfortable chair. A few healthy snacks within reach will also help! Keep a well-stocked basket of school supplies close by that contains sharp pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils, tape, a glue stick, scissors, paper, a ruler, and whatever else is needed, so your child isn’t constantly getting up to find something. Use a timer to help with time management. Set up a routine: decide together when the homework will be done and where, keep the backpack close so that when the work is done, it gets re-packed immediately into the folder, and the folder goes right back into the backpack, and the backpack gets hung on a hook or door knob near the morning exit. That step-by-step, repeated organizational process takes a long time to grow roots, but if encouraged at home can make a huge difference going forward.
Fine Motor Skill Development Support: Learning how to hold a writing instrument requires a channeling of strength into the fingers that is not always easy to develop, and the use of tablets with its singular swiping motion and passive interaction can slow progress. Playing games such as Pick Up Sticks or Barrel of Monkeys, for example, help children rely on small finger motions. Playing with clay (requires more muscle than play dough) is also great. Legos, Lincoln Logs, puzzles of various sizes - any games that require active conversation and precision with fingers are great. Use thick pencils and pens at first, and then move to typical widths. Also, there are numerous pencil grip devices on the market, which can help as well.
Comprehension Games: Training our brains to make analogies, (meow is to cat as (?) is to dog, whale is to ocean as monkey is to (?), sort categories (name a red fruit, name hardware store items, name desert animals, name winter olympic sports, etc…), playing geography (or any topic) ABC games (Athens, Bombay, Calcutta, Detroit…archery, baseball, cricket, dodgeball…) are superb ways to expand thinking and get critical thinking skills germinating. Making inferences is another vital skill and a huge component in critical thinking: “Janie wore a bright red sweater as she crunched through the leaves on her way to school.” The reader infers the unstated information: it’s a cool autumn morning. “Victor saved the biggest cookie for his friend Chester.” The reader infers: Victor cares a lot about Chester and wants to make him happy. Also, regularly weave new vocabulary into your child’s lexicon. “Fancy” words, as author Jane O’Connor says, are synonyms for everyday words and can give such a sense of power to a child! One day, when my daughter was feeling very mad, we looked up and used new words for “mad” (irate, furious, blistered, angry, vitriolic, enraged, explosive…). Her mood improved with that empowerment!
Developing readers benefit tremendously from strong support at home. To become remotely proficient, they require a good amount of overlearning, over-exposure, and repeated practice. We as parents can gently bolster a child both subliminally and directly as they work hard to decode, encode, and make it to the point where those strings of letters make sense and are recognized and recalled automatically. Staying connected to your child’s school, playing with sounds, reading aloud to your child, listening to audio books, having your child read aloud to you when they are able, providing and maintaining a well organized routine and work space, opening the doors of comprehension and critical thinking through discussions about books and stories, and playing language games go a long way toward that goal. As always, repetition is your friend.
“No man stands taller than when he stoops to help a child.”
(Unknown, but often attributed to Abraham Lincoln.)
I couldn’t agree more.
Further Reading:
Reading in the Brain ,(Stanislas Dehaene, 2009)
Calling All Neurons! How Reading and Spelling Happen, (Lori C. Josephson, 2024)
How Your Brain Learns To Read, (Denise Eide, 2022)
Straight Talk About Reading, (Hall, Moats, 1999)
To Read Or Not To Read, (Daphne Hurford, 1998)
Sold A Story, Emily Hanford (Podcast, 2022-2025)