Does your child struggle with reading? If so, it’s important to identify in which area they struggle in.
Do they struggle sounding out words while they read? When you ask them what they just read, do they say “I don’t know?”
If so, it’s important to identify in which area of reading comprehension they struggle in.
The National Reading Panel identified 5 components of reading and I’ll go into them in greater detail below:
1.Phonemic Awareness: the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds-phonemes–in spoken words. For example, the word cat has three phonemes (three different sounds for each letter) C-A-T.
2. Phonics: the knowledge that letters of the alphabet represent phonemes and that these sounds are blended together to form written words. In order to master phonics your child must master the alphabet. Letters then need to be connected to their corresponding sounds. Readers who are skilled in phonics can sound out words they haven’t seen before, without first having to memorize them.
3. Vocabulary Development: teaching new words, either as they appear in text or by introducing new words separately. When your child receives their spelling list each week, have your child create flashcards. On the front side, have them write their spelling word. On the back side, have them write the definition of the word, write each word 5 times, write the word in a sentence, and draw a picture to remember what the word means. This will help them develop their vocabulary and their writing.
4. Reading Fluency – the ability to recognize words easily, read with greater speed, accuracy, and expression, and to better understand what is read. Geniuses gain this skill by practicing reading aloud until it becomes automatic. Pick a small passage for your Genius to read out loud. Time your Genius for one minute and keep track of how many errors they make while reading (e.g. trouble sounding out a word or reading a different word than is stated in the text). After the one minute timer goes off, calculate the words correct per minute (W.C.P.M.) they read. Use this equation:
Total words read -errors = words correct per minute
Repeat the same small passage for a total of 3 times. This helps your Genius understand the purpose is to read slowly, with accuracy, to understand what is being read.
The chart below shows the words correct per minute target rates for your Genius.
5. Reading Comprehension– Is a culmination of the 4 skills above. Once the previous skills are mastered, your child should be able to answer 5 W’s (who, what, where, when, & why) and ‘how’ type of questions related to what they read. They should also be able to summarize what they read.
I hope this helps you as you teach your little one how to read. Have any questions? Comment below.
