Train up a child..

An Easy Way to Help Your Child Improve Reading Ability

Most parents want to feel proud of their children for doing well in school. Reading is basic to all other school subjects, so, naturally, one of the best ways to help your child in all schoolwork is to help him/her improve reading ability. In the case of reading, there is almost a “magic bullet” to help. That “magic bullet” is simply to have your child do a lot of reading.
Any time a skill is learned, practice is necessary. Reading is a skill. The old saying, “Practice makes perfect”, certainly applies to the reading skill. It follows that if a child likes what he/she is reading, that child is more apt to want to read more. How do we know what books to have a child read? There is a guideline, and the child can help determine this for self. As the child reads, have the child hold up a finger for each word that is unknown. If no fingers are held up, the book is easy and the child will enjoy it more. If three to five words are missed, the book may be too difficult and the child will not enjoy reading it.
Requiring a child to read at least twenty minutes each day will pay off tremendously. If a child reads twenty minutes each day for five days each week, that child will have read the equivalent of ten school days in one year. If a child reads only four minutes a day, at the end of the year he would have read the equivalent of four school days. By the time these two students reach 6th grade, the child who read twenty minutes each day would have read the equivalent of sixty school days and the other child would have read the equivalent of twelve days. The gap of information retained by the two students is very wide. How do you think the student who did little reading will feel about him/herself? Which student will feel better about him/herself? Which student will read better? Which student will know more? Which student will write better? Which student will have a better vocabulary? Which student will be more successful in life?
Having your child read twenty minutes at home each day of the week is easy. Simply have an understanding that a time will be set aside for this,and set the timer on the stove or have a special timer for the child. What about the child who keeps jumping up and doesn’t stay focused? Simply reset the timer for twenty minutes each time the child stops reading. That child will soon learn that it pays to stay quiet and get it done in twenty minutes or he/she will be reading for a long time. Of course, it is great if the child gets so interested in the reading material that the desire is there to continue reading!
What an easy thing to do to ensure that a child learn to read well. Parents and child will each feel good about school performance!