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Fun Ways To Improve Your Child’s Reading Skills

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Reading skills are one of the most essential principles of learning. With fine reading skills, a child will be better able to understand the subject taught at school and improve academic grades. It is important that these skills are inculcated in the child right from his early school years. However, after struggling to read all day in the school, children might resist learning at home. This can be avoided by introducing some strategies that can instigate their interest in reading and encourage them to stay focused.

Here are some fun ways to improve your child’s reading skills:

  • Comic Books:You can set aside some time each day when your child can read his favorite comic book. Graphic illustrations can be of great help to make the child concentrate and connect to the context of the reading material. With large sized eye-catchy pictures and segmented bits of text, kids find comics easier to read than plain text books.
  • Surround Them With Reading Material: If you provide your child with a wide collection of books at home, he will be more inclined to read them. However, these should not just include their text books. Include a variety of genres that will stimulate his curiosity and encourage reading. Apart from books you can also include other reading material such as newspapers, magazines, websites etc.
  • Online Games: There are a wide range of online games that can help kids to build vocabulary which, in turn, improve reading skills. These may include word scrabble, picture word matching, crossword puzzles etc.
  • Relate Reading To Various Aspects: You can consider generalizing a reading material so as to help the child understand its essence. After completing the reading task, hold a discussion with the child about how the content related with other books, TV shows or even real life experiences. This will help the child think deeply about the context and comprehend the message that the writer actually wanted to convey.
  • Read To Each Other: When you read stories or books to your child, he is more likely to understand rather than while reading on his own. Subsequently, ask him to read to you in order to evaluate improvement in his reading skills and correct him wherever necessary.

If you looking for effective tools to improve your child’s reading skills, consider See-N-Read Reading Skills. The research based products have been designed to overcome reading, writing and study skills deficiencies in children of all age groups. For more information, about the reading improvement tools, you can call at (630) 236 – 5592.

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Teacher’s Guide To Improving Reading Comprehension In Students

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Developing reading comprehension skills involves a lot of practice. Though the basic elements of reading, word recognition, phonetic awareness and fluency, can be easily mastered, comprehension is essential to understand any given content. It allows students to read actively, understand what is happening, predict what might occur, relate to characters and apply the learnt knowledge into real life experiences.

Here are some tips that can help teachers improve reading comprehension in students:

  • Utilize Different Reading Materials: By utilizing different mediums, such as books, magazines, audio-visual presentations, CDs, etc., children will find multiple ways to gain insights into the content. Make them read the content along with an audio version of the book. This will help them to see the words while learning their correct pronunciation and usage through the recording.
  • Generalize The Information: After the students have read a given material, you can hold discussions where they can talk over the format of the content, the characters, the message the writer wanted to convey etc. This way, the students will be better able to relate the content with the real-life situations and, thus, learn the material better.
  • Focus On Difficult Words: As students go about reading a content, ask them to note down the words they are not able to understand. Subsequently, you can hold a classroom discussion so that each student can clear his doubts and understand the meaning as well as usage of the difficult words. You can also put up a chart in the classroom in which all these words and their meaning can be noted to be used for future references.
  • Define A Purpose: Any given text may contain information that is not related to the essence of the content. Finding the main idea in the content is important to maintain focus and concentration. Teachers should brief the students beforehand regarding what the content is all about. Ask questions after every paragraph to make sure that the students are able to classify relevant information from the rest.
  • Take Notes: Encourage students to write down or highlight the information they find to be important in the passage. This way, they will be able to memorize what they have read and quickly go through it whenever needed.

See-N-Read Reading Tools are designed to improve reading comprehension in students of all age groups. The research based tools can help students find the main idea and gain a better understanding of the reading material. For more information, you can call at (630) 236 – 5592.

Fluency Interventions

Reading And Fluency Interventions For Students

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Reading involves more than just identifying and decoding words. It is important that students develop fluency in order to be a successful reader. It helps them read accurately at a definite pace along with the proper expression of words. A fluent reader will also be able to comprehend and memorize any text better. Here are some effective reading fluency intervention tips for students:

  • Model Fluent Reading: In order to be a fluent reader, students must be aware of the essential components of fluency. When they know how fluent reading sounds like, they will be better able to incorporate the style into their own reading. Hence, you should expose your children to various reading materials and the correct way to narrate them. Read aloud various poems, stories, speeches of their interest and let the students pinpoint elements that made you read fluently.
  • Guided Practice: You can also make your child learn simultaneously as you read. Pick out a paragraph or excerpt from a text and let your child repeat every sentence after you. Focus on the child’s expression of words and accuracy in pronunciation. Repeat the same process several times and praise the child for every improvement he makes.
  • Repeated Readings: Choose a book or a piece of text appropriate for the student’s academic level and let him read it aloud. When the child is unable to read a word correctly or takes a pause for a few second, tell him the correct pronunciation and make him repeat after you. Encourage him to repeatedly read the entire text until he is able to achieve the desired fluency.
  • Use Chunking And Paraphrasing: Students must be taught to use chunking technique to comprehend the meaning of the text. Segregating the information into small meaningful phrases will help them to differentiate between individual words and their usage in the context. They must also be made to understand the importance of using punctuation marks at proper places.
  • Offer Practice Opportunities: While the child is reading, get a copy of the text and count the number of words he pronounced correctly in one minute. Subsequently, let him read the same text twice or thrice and note the improvement from previous results. The student will gradually show a substantial improvement in his reading fluency.

If your child is facing problems in reading fluently, consider using See-N-Read Reading Tools. The research based fluency intervention tools have been designed to help students read accurately and improve comprehension. For more information, you can call at (630) 236 – 5592.

Fluency Interventions

Strategies For Developing Reading Fluency

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A lot of students struggle with reading fluently or maintaining place on a page. Reading efficiency can be assessed by the clarity and ability to read aloud along with expressions and understanding of the text. Various tools and tips can assist in enhancing the reading fluency of a child and also develop interest in reading. Some of these have been discussed below:

  • Exemplify fluent reading: In order to read fluently, children must listen and understand the sound of pronounced words. The teacher or parent can read the text aloud, emphasizing the stressed syllables and ask the child to repeat and stay focused on the text.
  • Repeated readings: The student should be encouraged to re-read the same content to get familiar with the context and words. You can begin with a short poem and then move on to stories. Reading passages aloud encourages fluency and expression. Repeated oral reading helps to build confidence and enhance the ability to understand the content.
  • Reading techniques: The child should be monitored for the ability of phrasing, reading a phrase together, the speed of reading and the emphasis given to certain words. The child should be encouraged to repeat certain sentences or phrases as repeated reading helps to build fluency.
  • Chorus reading: Two or more children can be given a text and asked to read a paragraph each, turn by turn. This will encourage them to read fluently and notice the reading style of a fellow student.
  • Silent sustained reading: This technique, referred to as SSR, is performed silently and independently. It aims at providing the child an opportunity to enjoy reading at a comfortable pace. The child can select the text to read so that his focus and motivation levels are high.
  • Audio books: Listening to an audio version of their favorite text or book can encourage children to read along with it. The audiobook can be paused and replayed several times for clarity and works as a positive fluency model to the listener.

See-N-Read Reading Tools are designed to encourage fluent reading skills while providing affordable and practical learning support. Our reading tools are aimed at helping children overcome reading difficulties and develop memory strategies. For more details, you can call at (630) 236 – 5592.

Reading Tools

How To Increase Your Reading Speed

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Reading is an invaluable skill that helps in most spheres of life including academics, business and leisure. However, it can be quite tedious and time consuming if your reading speed is slower than average. While an average individual reads almost 200 to 250 words per minute, the pace may also depend upon the material and purpose of reading. Along with the speed, it is equally important that you understand the information that is being read.

Here are a few tips that can help to improve your reading speed:

  • Read With A Fresh Mind: It takes a lot of practice and concentration to improve your reading speed. Thus, it is better to develop a habit of reading when your mind is fresh and least distracted, preferably early in the morning. You must schedule your most important reading tasks for this time of the day.
  • Skim Reading Material: Before starting with the actual reading material, you must go through it briefly and scan the outline of the content. This will give you an idea about what is important, which part you can skip and which you need to read with more concentration. Skimming will also prepare your mind to better comprehend the content to be read. When you understand the structure and idea of the content, your reading speed is likely to improve.
  • Categorize Reading Material: Dividing the content into three different categories, namely important, moderately important and least important, can help to improve your reading speed. You should start over with the least important bit first, by just scanning it quickly without pressuring your mind. Then, you should move on to the most important content and read it with utmost concentration and attention. Finally, you should keep the moderately important content for the last to relax your mind after handling the complex information.
  • Set A Reading Environment: The environment in which you read, your physical posture, the angle at which you hold the book and other such factors can also influence your reading speed. As far as possible, you should try to read in natural light, as it tends to stimulate alertness. The place should be well lit and there should be no distractions, specifically while reading complex material.

See-N-Read Reading Tools are research-based products aimed at improving reading speed. The tools have been designed to help people of all ages overcome reading, writing and study skills deficiencies. For more information, you can call at (630) 236 – 5592.

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Improve Reading Fluency With See-N-Read Reading Tools

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Fluency is an important part of reading as it offers a link between recognizing and understanding the usage of a word in a context. It is the ability of an individual to read a text precisely, quickly and with proper expression of stress, pauses as well as pitch. If one faces difficulty in reading with speed and needs to constantly stop in order to comprehend words, it is highly possible that the reading process will be quite daunting.

See-N-Read Reading Tools are research-based products designed to improve reading fluency. The tools provide a practical and easy-to use fluency intervention methods in order to improve moderate to severe deficiencies in reading, writing and study skills for people of all ages.

See-N-Read Reading Tools That Can Help To Improve Fluency

  • See-N-Read®: This reading tool is designed to enable readers to stay focused and direct attention towards the content instead of merely struggling to keep track of their position on the page. The product comes with a ReadBar™, which reduces word or line skipping while reading and prevents pattern glare without blocking the adjacent text. See-N-Read® allows the use of common reading strategies, chunking and sweeping, for better fluency.
  • MemoryMark™: This reading improvement tool allows an individual to highlight or mark the important information without having to lose place on the page. It helps to improve reading fluency, comprehension and retention of key points.
  • eSee-N-Read™: It is an electronic tools working in the same manner as See-N-Read but on a computer. The surrounding areas are slightly shaded by the ReadBar™ that allows better on-screen visibility while minimizing distractions, screen glare as well as eye strain. The entire tool or cut-out window can be customized, resized and restructured according to the user’s needs.
  • See-N-Spell™: This reading tool provides a complete spelling and vocabulary guide to the users so that they do not have to struggle in comprehending the meaning of unknown words in a context. The tool lists more than 300 most commonly used and misspelled words that helps to improve academic performance.
  • ColorTAG™: This reading tool helps readers to systematically go through, organize and retrieve important information in any given content. Thus, it provides for a better identification as well as differentiation between essential and non-essential points.
  • ColorTAG™ works by avoiding confusion between different contexts, aiding comprehension of information and improving reading fluency.

For more information about See-N-Read Reading Tools, you can call at (630) 236 – 5592.

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Common Reading Problems In Children

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Reading difficulties are faced by most children and can occur due to several reasons. Learning information is a sequential process involving a combination of three different components, namely decoding, comprehension and retention. It is critical for parents and teachers to identify the source of a child’s difficulty and employ practical strategies that can help to improve reading skills.

Given here are areas in which the child may face reading difficulties:

Decoding

Students with reading difficulties may face problems in decoding the sound of different letters in a word. An important aspect of learning involves breaking up of the phonemes in order to recognize a word. For instance, children with appropriate learning skills may be able to separate the different sounds in the word ‘bag’. However, a child with reading difficulty may find it difficult to judge the meaning between the three letters and how their sounds can be combined to form a word.

Signs of problems in decoding:

  • Issues in sounding out words
  • Difficulty in recognizing individual words
  • Confusion between various letters and their sound
  • Lack of expression in reading
  • Missing punctuation marks while reading
  • Slow reading pace

Comprehension

Comprehending any information requires the ability to properly decode it. When children successfully decode the sound and connection of different words, they are in a better position to concentrate on the paragraph that they are reading. When word recognition is not problematic, children can easily understand and remember the information.

Signs of problems in comprehension:

  • Confusion in the meaning of individual words and their usage in sentences
  • Difficulty connecting different contexts in a paragraph
  • Missing out or skipping significant details
  • Lack of concentration while reading
  • Inability to distinguish between important and trivial information

Retention

This requires the mastery of both decoding and comprehension skills. Proper retention of information relies on a child’s cognitive skills and the ability to organize, summarize as well as retrieve relevant ideas. They should be able to link the present information to something they already know. This, along with sufficient practice, will allow the children to store any information in their long-term memory that can be recalled whenever required.

Signs of problems in retention:

  • Difficulty relating what is being currently read with previous knowledge
  • Trouble in real-life application of information gathered
  • Difficulty memorizing or recapitulating the information read

See-N-Read Reading Tools are aimed at improving reading skills among children of all age groups. The research-based products can help children overcome moderate to severe reading and study skill deficiencies. For more information, you can call us at (630) 236 – 5592.

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Improving Reading Comprehension In Students With Dyslexia

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Students with dyslexia often tend to lay focus on identifying the pronunciation and spelling of unfamiliar words. This leads to them failing to comprehend the meaning of what they read. Dyslexia can not only lower a child’s performance in school but also cause problems throughout his life. Some of these can be loss of interest in studies, poor academic vocabulary and difficulty in getting a job.

However, certain strategies, when correctly utilized by teachers and parents, can help to improve reading comprehension in students with dyslexia.

  • Summarize: While reading, make sure you stop the child after every section to determine what all he has gathered out of it. Ask him what the paragraph was all about, what the main idea was and what could happen next. You should also make him highlight the important points that need to be remembered. By summarizing any information, students will be able to know if they have been able to understand or they need to re-read the content.
  • Use Graphic Illustrations: Students with dyslexia may face problems in organizing the information that they read. This may be due to the added concentration on comprehending the differences between letters and words. Using pictures, visual illustrations or graphic representations can be helpful in overcoming this problem. For instance, teachers can depict information through flow charts, time lines and other diagrammatical formations. They should let students be an active participant and put up or answer questions related to the content.
  • Hold Discussions: Organizing group discussions in the classroom setting can also help to improve comprehension skills. Talking about a recently read piece of information, sharing views and listening to others, promotes a better understanding of the content. Students may also feel comfortable while asking questions and sharing what they have not understood in such an informal setting.
  • Encourage Questioning: Putting up and answering questions about any information helps in gaining insights and making predictions about the upcoming set of events. The teacher can frame the questions himself or encourage the students to do so. These can be answered either during or after the information has been read.
  • Use Previous Knowledge: When reading,students face difficulty in linking the current piece of information with their existing knowledge to make it more meaningful. Before starting to read the content, teachers can make them familiar with the difficult words and any related information that they have read in the past.

 

See-N-Read Reading Tools are research-based products aimed at helping students improve their reading comprehension skills. For more information, you can call us at (630) 236 – 5592.

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Tools To Improve Students’ Reading Comprehension

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The ability to comprehend and remember reading material is extremely important for students to be successful. Improving reading comprehension can help a reader connect better with the information given on a page and apply to his existing knowledge.

Here are some useful tools to improve student’s reading comprehension skills:

  • Pre-Reading Tasks: Before beginning to read the text, students must be asked to take a brief review of what the topic discusses. They must be encouraged to recollect as much information as they can about it along with any related topics that they may have read in the past. Reading comprehension is closely associated with prior knowledge. As students are likely to frame a reference for the content that they are about to read it is useful to remember previous reads. You should make notes of the information that they are able to gather.
  • Learn New Vocabulary Words: As they go about reading the passage, make a list of unfamiliar or complex words. Allow them to refer to the dictionary to search for meanings of all these words. Writing down the definitions will also make them memorize better than by typing or simply reading.  
  • Set A Purpose For Reading: Students must also have a clear idea about the actual purpose of reading the text. For this, they need to read the questions given at the end of the passage. It will allow them to focus on the answers of those questions as they read.
  • Generate Questions: By asking questions relevant to the text, students tend to have a better understanding of the entire concept. Generate questions that require them to combine different segments of the passage in order to frame the answer. For instance, students can be asked what the main idea of the passage is, who the key characters are, what the theme is and what is likely to occur next.
  • Story Retelling: Reading comprehension can also be improved by asking students to recite a rough draft of the story to partners. Through this, they can frame the passage in their own words and relate them to their knowledge. Restating also helps to improve their recall memory of the information.

 

For more tips on how to improve reading comprehension, you can contact See-N-Read Reading Tools at (630) 236 – 5592.

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Tips To Help Struggling Readers

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Helping a struggling reader overcome his reading difficulties can be a challenging task. However, being a parent or teacher, the first step is identifying the problem area and intervening at an early stage.

A reading difficulty may manifest itself in the following ways:

  • Students are unable to successfully learn a reading concept altogether
  • They tend to forget the concept after learning
  • They learn and memorize the concept but are unable to apply it in real life situations

 

Here are some tips to help struggling readers in classrooms or at home:

  • Reading a paragraph from start to end may seem to be difficult. Often, the space between words may appear to be blurred or the child may lose track while moving from one sentence to another. Use a reading strip can help them stay focused on a specific line and understand it.
  • Encourage your child to read anything that captures their interest. You must ask the child to try and read text books, magazines, comics or any websites that he finds interesting. This will keep the child engaged and he will be able to learn many new words.
  • Set realistic reading goals for the child. If you set tough targets that need days or weeks to be achieved, the child may feel discouraged and uninterested. Each day when you begin with the lesson, tell your child the goal he will be working for. You can also reward the child for every little progress that he makes towards the goal.
  • Repeat the lessons again and again. If your child needs to read the same words or chapters many times, allow him to do so. Repetition helps in retaining the information and memorizing it for a long time.
  • Asking questions is also a great strategy to improve reading comprehension. Let your child relate with the characters in a story, their feelings and actions. Ask them questions about the story or what he assumes should happen next. This way, they will be engaged in the reading task and understand it thoroughly.

 

See-N-Read Reading Tools are designed to provide affordable and practical learning support to struggling readers. Our products are aimed at helping children overcome reading difficulties and develop memory strategies. For more details, you can call at (630) 236 – 5592.