Should I Tell My Child Words During Reading Practice?
Have you been listening to your child read aloud to you? If so, reach your arm across your neck, place your hand on your back, and give yourself a BIG pat on the back! Well done. Many parents overlook doing this for young elementary readers.
However, you might be wondering if you should tell your child the word when there is a struggle. Let’s talk about a few scenarios and what to do!
First of all, if your child needs help on more than 2-3 words per page, the book is NOT a good choice to read at this time. Your child can look at it or have it read aloud to them, but it is not the best practice material. I really feel the need to say that disclaimer, as that is a common occurrence I’ve witnessed.
With that said, let’s get started:
My Child Substituted a Short Word for Another Short Word.
Sometimes when a child is new to reading aloud to a parent, the reading can be sloppy. If there has been no one sitting beside the child holding him accountable, there may be small words that are switched out or substituted for each other: to, the in, a, that, with, etc.
When this happens, it can take some time to get your child in the habit of paying very close attention, slowing down, and being extra careful to have accuracy. The way I do this is I tap on the word that was substituted. I just reach my finger or pencil over and lightly tap so the child sees it and can try correcting it on their own. Another strategy I try is to read back the sentence EXACTLY as the child read it and point to the words as I read, just to see if the child notices the error when it is read back.
I’d say it can take a few weeks of regular reading to become better at this skill. As with any skill out there, some special circumstances may take a little longer.
My Child is Struggling to Read a Longer Word.
What about a multi-syllable word? Sometimes a child guesses the word based on a picture, a first letter, or the context of the sentence. You want to direct your child to notice the other syllables and the sounds within them. A good start is to start with just the first syllable.
If you have not taught syllable division rules yet (and many children are still not learning these in their school or curriculum), then you can remind your child to read the first 3-4 letters. Usually that means read until you see a vowel and then the next consonant sound after it. If the child can completely read the first syllable of the word, he can likely get the rest of the word if he is paying attention to the context and noticing the rest of the letters in the second or third syllables. This strategy takes time, but it has been repeatedly effective in my experience.
You might have to show your child how to do this by doing it for them a few times. Other times, if there is a spelling pattern unfamiliar to your child, you might have to go ahead and tell your child the word if you’ve given him the chance and it didn’t work. But, give the chance to try first!
My Child is Struggling to Read a New Word He’s Never Seen.
Sometimes a strange word that’s not even in your child’s speaking or listening vocabulary comes up in a book. It might be jargon specific to a certain subject area, such as reading a nonfiction book about an animal or other part of science. It might have a very “wonky” spelling pattern. If you’ve given your child the chance to try, you can tell your child the word and encourage him to remember it the next time he sees it in the book.
Sometimes, I direct the child to focus on the consonant sounds of a word if sounding it out tends to be difficult. Did you know in some ancient languages vowel letters weren’t even used?
My Child is Struggling to Read A Name.
Names can be difficult for anyone to read—especially if they are unfamiliar. Names don’t always follow spelling rules and are heavily affected by culture. If a child is reading a story about someone who comes from another part of the world or even another sub-culture, the name can be difficult.
Encourage your child to pick a pronunciation and MOVE ON—especially if neither of you know how to pronounce the name. If I have enough time, I sometimes enlist the internet for help on the pronunciation.
If I know how to say the name, I’ll tell my child after he has tried on his own. I encourage the child to actually say the name aloud. It can help with remembering the name later on in the text. *Remember, there aren’t only names for people but also names for cities, countries, and other geographical features.
The main idea is to allow your child to get the meaning of the text they are reading and not get too hung up on a name. Do you remember math word problems growing up that included unfamiliar names? I did not grow up in a very diverse community and those were quite frustrating as a child since the names confused me. Let your child know it’s not a huge deal when reading. If they. meet someone in person, then it is a huge deal to say the name correctly.
So remember, allow your child to try the word first in these various strategies before you tell them the word. Your child will become dependent on you telling them everything and will not want to try. You have to train your child to try reading the word and give the right strategies to do it.
As a final reminder, if you are having to help your child over and over every few words, the text is too difficult at this time. Back up to an easier level (something with fewer words, fewer suffixes, fewer vowel teams, or fewer r-controlled words).
My new course, Next Step Reading, will cover many strategies for sounding out words with your young reader. Be on the lookout for updates and get on my email list. Remember, you can also get my FREE guide “5 Quick Tips to Immediately Help Your Struggling Reader.”
Take heart, parents. Remember, YOU are your child’s MOST INFLUENTIAL teacher.