To improve reading at home, practice these strategies:

 

• Predicting & Questioning: Before reading, look at the title and pictures to predict what the story is about. While reading, ask questions about characters' actions, why things happened, or what new words mean, and encourage the reader to do the same. 
• Summarizing & Retelling: After reading, ask the child to summarize what they just read. You can do this with the Five Finger Retell strategy, which helps break down the story. 
• Graphic Organizers: Use tools like graphic organizers to map out characters, settings, and plot, which helps visualize and understand the text. 
• Activate Prior Knowledge: Connect what is being read to personal experiences and what the child already knows about the topic to improve understanding. 

• Read Aloud & Take Turns: Read aloud together, taking turns reading passages or pages. This allows the reader to hear fluent reading and practice with support. 
• Audiobooks: Listening to an audiobook while following along in the text can improve fluency and pronunciation. 
• Develop Vocabulary: When encountering new words, pause to define them, and look them up together to build the reader's vocabulary. 
• Focus on the Text: When a child struggles with a word, guide them to use letter sounds or context clues. You can also model reading fluently and smoothly. 

• Choose Interesting Books: Find books and materials on the child's favorite topics, whether it's baseball, planets, or comic books. 
• Make it a Routine: Instill a routine of reading at bedtime or another regular time. 
• Reward Progress: Offer reading rewards that are connected to the reading activity, such as choosing the next book to read, to build excitement and intrinsic motivation.