Reading aloud to students is one of the best things you can do to assist young people in developing strong literacy skills. First things first, having access to books your student is interested in (topic areas) may be a good place to start.
To keep a student's attention while reading you could try the following:
Point to each word as you read it out aloud. Then require the student to read aloud the next sentence and take turns. This can be done on a word by word basis, sentence by sentence or page by page. Best to keep the stories short and sweet to begin with. If they know they need to be the one reading next, they will likely pay more attention to what you are doing to be ready for their turn.
At first, you may like to only select some words for the student to read aloud - ones that you know they are able to sound out. Lots and lots of positive praise! Then you can start introducing more challenging words once they’ve built a bit of confidence.
Ask open ended questions as you go. "What do you think about ____(insert topic you just read about?) Or "Can you tell what ______ (insert character) would be like if _____ (insert event?) This may be off-putting at first if they are not yet feeling confident but these style questions will give you an indicator of their level of comprehension of the text.
Do a drawing exercise to depict what is happening in the story after you finish reading.
Play a game where you do a funny action if you read out a high-frequency word. This could make reading time a little bit fun.
Decoding Words
Decoding words is absolutely normal for beginning readers and although it may seem painful, it is a necessary step towards them moving from choppy blending to stretched, then smooth blending.
In other words, using the word cat as an example:
/C/ *space* /A/ *space* /T/ (choppy)
CCCCCAAAAATTTTTTT (no spaces - stretched)
CAT (no spaces and normal speed - smooth blending).
It is important to relax and slow down the pace when needed. Foundation and Grade 1 are the vital years when learning to read. It does not need to be rushed. If you spend two weeks instead of one on the sight words, or even take an extra year to cover the Foundation & Grade 1 English, that is no problem at all. It is far more important to move at a pace that works for your child.
Later when reading is established, you can jump ahead to the level of the other subjects, but for now, slow that part of the learning down. Also, keep it light and fun. Just like learning to walk, all children learn to read at their own pace. We just put the words and letters into weeks for convenience. It is quite common for boys to take to reading a little later than girls. If you feel there are sight words and sounds to consolidate from Foundation, we are happy to provide the Foundation level English for you to access with your existing program.
We have added a few resources you may find helpful and below you will find some online games that may also be a great asset. Remember if you are happy and relaxed, your student will feel the same as they begin the reading process.
Free blend activity sheets.
Free phonics games
🎞️ Podcast: The Parent's Role in the Reading Journey