Tag Archives: Improve Reading Skill

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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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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.