Friday, March 13, 2015

Literacy for Parents


You're here because you love your child. I'm here because I love your child, too. We both want them to do well and we get worried when things seem to be going awry. Let's just go ahead and get that out there. Parents that are concerned that their child might be slipping behind their classmates often go to teachers and ask what they can do to help, but too often they hear "Read more" or "Read to your kid" or even "Make them read even if they don't want to." I imagine that these answers are incredibly frustrating. They would have to be. There are requirements the school has to meet, but for our purposes we will be looking at home support.

Children, especially teenagers, know when they are behind. They really do. There's no point skirting the issue. That is the first thing to address when working with a struggling reader. There are estimates that as high as 40% of people (not just children) will need additional help to read. That's huge. Please share this information with your child. It is completely normal and they should not be stigmatized by needing support. If you were a struggling reader, it could be scary to admit to your child that you were one of the 40% as well! Tell yourself that you're awesome and that it's just fine. Together, we can work on this. 

There are three modules listed on the left that will walk you through some of the key ideas and techniques used by reading specialists that have been modified for parent use. Please note that there are underlined links throughout the blog.  These links should take you to additional resources to aid your understanding.  If you are a struggling reader as well, it may be useful to work through the exercises with your child and read the same books they do. This not only will strengthen the bond with your child, but will help build your confidence as well. 

Remember not to get discouraged. This is a lifelong learning process and may take time to yield visible results. Work them into your child's life slowly. Build their confidence. Give them the tools to do it alone. Please contact me directly if you need additional clarification or suggestions for further reading.


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Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2015.

"Helping Struggling Readers." Reading Rockets. Corporation for Public Broadcasting. N.p., 10 July 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2015.


McKeta, Pam. "Seeking Help for a Struggling Reader: 8 Steps for Parents." Reading Rockets. Corporation for Public Broadcasting, n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.


Vacca, R. T., Vacca, J. L., & Mraz, M. (2014). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.