Tips for Struggling Readers

If your child has difficulty sequencing syllables and recognizing sound units within words, try this ... 

Write your child’s first and last name on a piece of paper. Use a red marker to write the vowels. Glue a pom-pom under each syllable. Have your child say their name, and touch the pompom as they say each syllable.

If your child has difficulty using vowels and consonants to make words, try this ... 

Use a set of magnetic letters and an aluminum cookie sheet. Have your child manipulate the letters to form a word. If you don’t have magnetic letters, use index cards for the activity. Have your child make as many words as possible in 1 minute, using just the letters n, f, d, s, and a.  

If your child has difficulty hearing vowel sounds, try this ... 

On a table, line up a set of index cards with these vowel teams on them: oi, oy, ou, ow, oo. On a different set of index cards write words that contain these vowel sounds, i.e. boil, toy, couch, low. Have your child determine which of the vowel teams each word should be placed under. Try and have 2 -3 words per vowel team. Note that /oo/ can have 2 sounds, such as moon and book. Make sure you keep the words consistent with the sound.  

You could also try these vowel teams: 
o ee, ea, ai, ay, ie, and oa. Again, make sure you keep the word examples consistent. ea has 3 sounds (eat, bread, great). ie also has 2 sounds (piece, pie). 

If your child has difficulty understanding the meaning of what they read, try this ... 

Write the text of a story on paper, leaving room for illustrations. Ask your child to draw new picture for the book. Or have your child write stories or short sentences and then illustrate them. Staple them together and turn them into mini-books. Have he or she read them back to you. 

Here are some Mini-books that are ready to print: (these ones give you the option of printing with text only, so that your child can draw the illustrations). 

Town Mouse Country Mouse 

The Ugly Duckling

Goldilocks and the Three Bears