Literacy Help for Grades 1st –3rd

Reading one on one with your child for 20 minutes per day will greatly improve your child’s reading skills and you will discover where he/ she faces the most difficulty in reading.  This article will focus on your child reading to you and techniques or ways to determine in what areas he needs the most help. Once you find out where he is having difficulty rather it be blending letters, comprehension or fluency, you can take a few simple approaches that I will cover in this article to improve his reading habits.

In my experience of teaching as a literacy aid to first through third graders, I have found that each child that struggles with reading at their grade level is unique.  Before you have your child read with you find some books that interest him and have him chose one. While he reads praise him for his efforts and after reading time give him/her a reward like stickers or a small treat for his efforts.  If you are reading material that he might struggle or is struggling with, read the story first to him.

 Blending Letters

The most common problem that elementary school reader’s face seems to be the blending of letters. The child sometimes tries to guess the word that resembles a word that they already know.  When this problem occurs and the child says the wrong word when reading, the following information may be helpful, use in any order:

1.       Have a note pad and pencil handy at the table that you are working at.  Write the word that they said to help them see the difference in the words.

For example 1 if the child said there instead of their, which is a common mistake, write the word there. You may sometimes need to explain the difference in the meanings and use examples, such as: Their cat is white. And.  Their white cat is over there.

2.       Ask the child if that word makes sense.

An example would be: There white cat is over there. (And should be) Their white cat is over there.

3.       In case the child uses the picture and does not try sounding out the word ask them what letter the word begins with or point out what letter is not in the word they are trying to read.

An example of number 3 would be a picture of kids and teachers at a computer. And the sentence reads; The Children are busy at school. (Instead of school he says computer). 

4.       Break up the word into syllables.

In example of number 4, the word that the child is struggling with is picture. Break up the word by covering the last syllable. So the child sees pic then ture.  (This is like a puzzle so you may have to cover pic and have him put the two sounds together). You can use a blank index card, which will come in handy in the next example.

If the child sounds out the letters give him the word. (Say it for him).

5.       Cut a few index cards in half and write a letter on each one of the word he is struggling on. Then just one letter at a time have him sound it out.  For the word story, s = s  then t  = st then o = sto then r  = stor then y = story.

This example (5) is for the child that cannot break the word up into syllables.  It is also a fun way to read the words because he can help find the letters and put them together.  If you use this method often you will want to keep a separate envelope for each letter of the alphabet that you use.

The above strategies work best in combination. Be careful to work as quickly as possible so you can maintain the child’s interest in the story that he is reading.

I hope this article will help you to improve your child’s literacy skills. I will be covering comprehension and fluency soon on this hub.

As a parent and educator I realize how valuable it is to invest the time for your child to read on his/her own.  By the third grade an elementary student is expected to read at a certain required level (L, M).    I know the children do not always cooperate at home as they would in a school environment. That is why a private reading tutor may help. 

I will be establishing a new hub for tips on screening a tutor.

See Ya Soon & Happy Reading!