How Do I Raise My Child’s Reading Level?
Many parents I’ve spoken with are greatly concerned about reading levels. This is likely because their child is enrolled in a school (private or public) and levels are a way to report to parents how the child is reading (in comparison to what is normally expected). It is a different world with my homeschooling friends who don’t need to know levels to help their child improve in reading. With that said, this post is primarily for my friends with children in a school.
Different schools use different leveling systems. Some use Accelerated Reader, where 1.0 is first grade beginning of the year and 1.5 is mid year first grade or 2.0 is second grade. Other schools may use Guided Reading Levels, where the child is given a letter of the alphabet to represent a sub-level within a particular grade.
When I was a classroom teacher, I administered running records to test the reading levels of my students. There were a few things I needed to look out for that were counted as errors in the reading. At the same time, there were certain necessary reading behaviors such as comprehending and retelling the story and self-correcting if something read didn’t make sense.
What can YOU do to help your child improve on reading level?
Allow your child to read aloud to you.
It doesn’t take long each day (10-15 minutes), but sometimes you have to buckle down and make sure that it happens every day while your child is needing to improve. The teacher, as wonderful as she may be, cannot give your child one-on-one reading practice each day.
The best part is that if you allow your child to read aloud to you, you will soon learn where the struggle is. Is it fast and sloppy reading? Is it far too slow, possibly from a book that’s too hard? Does your child confuse letters or guess?
If you know the reason for the struggle, you can better address it. Letting your child read to you on a regular basis will increase the child’s stamina and allow you to talk aloud about the book. Stop and comment on each page or ask a question. Have a conversation as you read. It will help with comprehension.
Choose interesting books to help your child’s motivation.
Sometimes struggling readers to do not want to sit and read. Finding a story or type of book that “pulls them in” can really help. It might be a graphic novel that is more in comic book form. It might be a book of facts and photos or even a funny rhyming story.
You know your child best. Take a trip to the library and look around. Check out several books in case you change your mind. You’ll still have choices!
Buddy read.
You can help bear the burden of a longer book when you go back and forth reading. It lets your child know you are there to help and involved. It also gives you a chance to model or show your child solid reading behaviors like pausing at periods, rereading something that doesn’t make sense, or following along with your finger.
Keep track of errors and address them.
Does your child make a mistake when reading?
Some common mistakes are:
pronouncing a word incorrectly (maybe phonics rules aren’t known),
skipping a word,
skipping a line of text,
adding in a word,
or even guessing and substituting an entirely different word.
You will notice mistakes. You don’t have to be over the top and negative about them. I usually just tap a little on the text with my finger and allow the child the chance to correct the error before I say anything. If there are too many errors (you find yourself constantly doing this), then you need to choose an easier book.
Sometimes I acknowledge the effort the child gave on a page and have them go back and reread it with better fluency.
If a child doesn’t know what the mistakes and bad habits are, how can he try to focus and correct them? Be sure to be kind but clear and discuss what the errors are. Choose one or two to work on fixing at time. Sometimes I suggest that a parent video the child reading so both parent and child can rewatch it in a few weeks to notice how much progress has occurred.
If phonics rules are not completely understood, remind your child what sound the letters or letter pairs make. You can even write it down on a post-it note that when the child reads the book independently, he is reminded of the rule.
Practice asking comprehension questions and retelling the story or nonfiction facts.
When your child finishes the book, ask simple questions about the characters and the events in the book. Ask questions like:
Why?
What happened next?
What happened before?
How did the [problem] give solved?
You can practice with your child how to retell a story by going back and forth taking turns telling it together. Over time, your child will learn and be better prepared if a teacher asks them to do it.
One final thought is to realize your child CAN improve in reading skills even if it’s not always reflected by a teacher’s test. In order to improve a test score or rating, you will need to be informed on how a test is conducted. If your child’s teacher conducts a running record, then read up on that so you know what to expect. If your child’s teacher uses Accelerated Reader, then ask to see what type of questions are asked.
If your child IS reading, but has not moved past beginner level books, you should look into my Next Step Reading course, where you discover exactly what you can do to help your child move forward. You can watch videos of what to teach and know how to do it. Join my email list for updates!