When a Child Reads...
Some Answers to Your Questions

There are lots of things you can do to help a beginning reader.

• Read to your child! 
• Encourage your child to read to you.
• Have your child make a prediction about what will happen and then discuss what happened after reading the story. 

• Memorizing is an early part of a child's reading development. 
•  A child’s memory for text builds fluency and helps him read smoothly.

• Pointing is one of the first strategies a beginning reader can use to check his/her reading.
• Pointing helps to remind your child to really look at the words.
• As your child becomes a better reader, he/she will be able to "point with his eyes."

• Experts have learned that good readers check the pictures for clues to the story.  That is why the teacher encourages your child to use the pictures for help.
• Covering the pictures would make his/her search for the right word more difficult.

• Have your child check the picture for clues.
• Tell him/her to start at the first letter of the unknown word, then say each letter-sound, and blend the sounds together.
• Always encourage your child to make the story sound right and make sense.
• Rereading is another good way to figure out an unknown word.
• If your child is still struggling after 5-6 seconds, tell him/her the word.

• Knowing the sound a letter makes is very important but if we sounded out every word, reading would be a lot of work and not much fun. 
• Help your child use the context of the story, the picture, and the beginning sounds to prevent your child from needing to "sound out" every word.