Reading fluently and knowing the meaning of what you are reading involves various skills such as phonemic awareness (i.e., knowing how to read the sounds in words), phonics (i.e., knowing how letters sound like), vocabulary (i.e., knowing the meaning of words), reading fluency (i.e., the ability to read smoothly), and comprehension (i.e., understanding what you are reading) (National University Hospital, 2023). These are some of the main skills that would help one become a fluent reader.  

Reading difficulties may occur where there is a specific skill or a range of skills that a child is struggling with when learning how to read. According to National University Hospital (2023), reading difficulty may be attributed to specific learning disorders (e.g., dyslexia), lack of literacy experiences, impairments in language and sensory processing, weakness in auditory and visual processing, and difficulties in sustaining attention. While it is beneficial to be aware and look out for signs of reading difficulties, if you suspect that your child might have reading difficulties, it would be best to consult a professional for a proper diagnosis. 

After observing or having diagnosed reading difficulties in your child, you might be wondering what you can do to better support them in their learning journey. Here are some evidence-based suggestions: 

1. Expose your child to books regularly and try out books of different genres and topics. 

It is important for children to enjoy what they are reading to motivate them to spend more time with books. As children may not yet know how to choose level-appropriate books, parents and caregivers can help with the book selection process. According to Associate Professor Kaye Lowe from the University of Canberra, choosing books that contain a child’s interests or what they find important is an important link to literacy (NSW Department of Education, 2022). 

Fig. 1: Child choosing from a wide range of books.

For starters, parents and caregivers can introduce books of different genres to their children. Some examples of genres include non-fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and poetry. Through this process, your child can explore the wide variety of reading materials available to them and find a genre that they enjoy reading. Parents and caregivers can also find books which include what your child is interested in, like animals, vehicles, or superheroes, for example. 

2. Participate in “echo reading” with your child.  

As it can be challenging and intimidating for children with reading difficulties to read a whole book by themselves, try echo reading to encourage them. Depending on your child’s ability and the book’s difficulty level, read a sentence, paragraph, or a suitable chunk of text, and ask your child to repeat after you. Trace your finger smoothly underneath the text that you are reading. 

Fig. 2: Reading together with your children can benefit language learning.

Echo reading and tracking the words whilst reading has been shown in several studies to be an effective method to improve children’s fluency in reading (Duran and Sezgin,2012; Knoll,2015).  

3. Participate in “repeated reading” with your child. 

Repeated reading involves your child reading a selected passage out loud for 3 or more times, during which you, the parent/caregiver, correct mistakes in reading or prompt your child when they hesitate for a long time. Your child should repeatedly read the entire passage until they reach a satisfactory level of fluency and accuracy. 

Fig. 3: Encourage your child to repeat passages until they are fluent.

By improving reading fluency through steps 2-3, reading comprehension can also be better supported through training automatic word reading (compared to laborious decoding of each word) and freeing cognitive resources to focus on word meaning. 

4. Facilitate story mapping during reading sessions. 

What is story mapping? Story mapping acts as a visual aid and prompts your child to identify relevant story-grammar information from a story, including the characters, setting, problem, and resolution, and linking them together. Have your child complete a story map while reading a story and ask them to answer questions about the story afterwards. When your child gets better at identifying story-grammar elements, remove the story map but prompt them to self-question by taking note of the same elements in the next few stories that they read and visualising the map. Finish off by asking them comprehension and inference questions after they finish reading the stories. 

Fig. 4: Example of story mapping.

How does story mapping help? Using story mapping, children can improve their reading comprehension through training their mental imagery of the stories and keeping the stories’ content in their memory. Asking your child questions about stories keeps the stories’ information fresh in their memory and helps them become better at linking it with their prior knowledge, which is stored in their long-term memory. The story mapping process can help to increase children’s vocabulary capacity and in turn, help them better understand what they are reading when they encounter new reading materials. 

How does the story mapping process help children with reading difficulties? The story mapping process helps to breakdown the storyline into bite-sized information for children with reading difficulties, so that the information is easier for them to process. Story mapping is applicable to any type of books and give parents and caregivers opportunities to check their child’s understanding of the reading material.  

5. It takes consistent effort to see improvement. Always remain supportive for your child! 

It can be emotionally challenging and frustrating for your child when they participate in reading sessions. Continue to encourage them and acknowledge their hard work! An enjoyable time reading will help them want to read more, which is beneficial for their reading development in the long run. 

 

References

Boulineau, T., Fore, C., Hagan-Burke, S, & Burke, M. D. (2004). Use of story-mapping to increase the story-grammar text comprehension of elementary students with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 27(2), 105-121. https://doi.org/10.2307/1593645  

Duran, E., & Sezgin, B. (2012). The effect of echo reading method to fluency reading. Ondokuz Mayis Univ Egitim Fakultesi, 31(2). https://doi.org/10.7822/egt85  

Hudson, A., Poh, W. K., Moore, K. A., & Binks-Cantrell, E. (2020). Fluency interventions for elementary students with reading difficulties: A synthesis of research from 2000-2019. Education Sciences, 10(3), 52. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10030052  

Knoll, E. (2015). Using echo reading and tracking simultaneously during small group read alouds with preschool children (Publication No. 287). [Master’s Thesis, Rowan University]. Theses and Dissertations.  

National University Hospital. (2023, August 23). Reading Difficulty (Children). https://www.nuh.com.sg/Health-Information/Diseases-Conditions/Pages/Reading-Difficulty-(Children).aspx  

NSW Department of Education. (2022, June 14). What to do if your child is struggling to read or write. https://education.nsw.gov.au/parents-and-carers/learning/english/when-older-kids-struggle  

Stevens, E. A., Walker, M. A., & Vaughn, S. (2017). The effects of reading fluency interventions on the reading fluency and reading comprehension performance of elementary students with learning disabilities: A synthesis of the research from 2001 to 2014. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 50(5), 576-590. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219416638028   

Woolley, G. (2007). A comprehension intervention for children with reading comprehension difficulties. Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities, 12(1), 43-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/19404150709546829 

 

Written by: Claire

Edited by: Michelle & Phoebe