Here are some ideas to support your child to develop their early reading skills

• At home use an assisted reading method to increase reading fluency. Read your child a phrase or sentence and then have your child read it back. Move your finger along the line of print to help your child focus on the word. Reread the passage several times. When your child recognizes the words, have your child read the sentence independently. Provide assistance with words that are difficult, modeling how to sound out the word.
• Playing games at home that require simple reading and spelling can be helpful. Adapt the rules according to your child’s needs. For example, when playing Scrabble, tell your child to make up any “word“ as long as it follows a consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) pattern and they can read it correctly.
• Read with your child for 15 minutes every night. Enlist the help of a librarian at the public library to select interesting books that are at your child’s instructional reading level (slightly above your child’s present level of reading development). At an instructional reading level, your child should be able to read 95 to 97 words in a 100-word passage without difficulty.
• If your child resists reading out loud, read to your child instead and have your child follow along with their finger. Do not read right before bed if this is a source of stress for your child. Provide a small incentive if your child resists you reading aloud (e.g., “first I’d like to read you this story, and then we will go and play at the park”).

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