Tips for Helping a Struggling Reader

If you have a struggling reader you know just how frustrating it can be.  If you've looked for strategies, but it seems like they're not working, don't give up.  Here are a couple of things I've recently tried with my daughter who is resisting it too.

• Read street signs, cereal boxes, game pieces/cards, restaurant menus, etc.  You will be reading it to them, taking the focus off of the reading, but they'll be learning the value of why they need to learn.
• Try alternating pages.  You read the left pages and have them read the right side pages.
• Don't correct all their mistakes.  Give yourself a maximum number of mistakes you'll correct.  I only correct approx. one error per page.  If the focus is on the errors they won't want to read, only to be corrected.
• Read to them.  My daughter was resisting so bad I just stopped fighting her.  After about a month she asked why I wasn't having her read anymore.
• Most of all, praise them for their efforts!