Texas Parenting News
Help your child be a successful reader
by Melody Patterson Zoch

To do well in school, your child must be a good reader. The key to reading well is comprehension. Children must be able to not only read the words on a page, but also understand and make sense of them.
Regardless of your education or experience, you can help your child increase reading comprehension. It’s a skill that can be taught, and it requires lots of practice at school and at home. In short, for children to become good readers, they must read!
Here are some tips for getting started:
Communicate with the teacher. Talk to your child’s teacher on a regular basis. Voice any concerns you may have. Seek advice on how to help your child at home. Be a role model by showing your child that you trust and respect the teacher. If you have the time, volunteer at the school so your child sees your interest in the school and in education.
Designate time and space for reading. Establish a quiet area of your home for reading without distractions like the television. Having time set aside each day for reading can help your child get into a routine. Children, no matter what age, need to read uninterrupted for at least 30 minutes every day. Children in third grade or higher need more time. If your child is not yet reading, read aloud to the child and use the suggested reading comprehension practices below.
Discuss the purpose of reading with your child. Explain that reading can be for pleasure or to learn new information. Discuss the purpose for reading before and after each reading session.
Use appropriate books. Talk with your child’s teacher about your child’s reading level and ask for suggestions on books to read. If your child is reading below grade level, ask about specific ways to help your child.
In my classroom, I give students a take-home bag with books suitable to their reading level. On any given day they have between four and six books in their bag. If your child’s teacher does not already provide books on a daily basis, ask about borrowing books to take home. Or check out appropriate books from the school or local library. You can also buy books economically at stores that specialize in used books.
Give encouragement. Be positive about the child’s progress. Emphasize strengths and accomplishments over weaknesses or difficulties. This will be especially important once children enter grade school and feel stressed about passing standardized tests on reading or language.

How to improve reading comprehension
Here are effective, easy practices you can use at home with your child:
Retellings. After reading, ask children to recall what they have just read, either through an oral retelling or by writing. When retelling, children reveal information about what they understood and how they organize that information. It’s important that they tell us as much as they can remember, not just the main ideas.
After reading a story, have your child close the book and tell you everything he or she remembers. Closing the book ensures that children are not just looking back at the pictures as reminders, but that they actually remember everything they’re saying. If your child struggles to retell the story or has trouble remembering parts of it, this is a sign that the child needs to go back and reread.
Explain that every time we read, we need to be able to retell the story. If we cannot, then we have not effectively read for meaning. If your child experiences great difficulty with retelling the whole story, break it up into small parts. Once the child can retell the small parts, gradually increase the amount to be read and retold. This can help your child feel successful and prevent frustration.
While your child is retelling it may be necessary to offer prompts, especially at first. Some examples:
• “What happened next?
• “Tell me more about….”
• “Can you explain that some more?”
• “How did the story begin?”
• “How did the story end?”
Think-alouds. Good readers actively think while they read. You can model this technique. Start reading a book aloud and stop periodically, but not so much to distract your child, to say what you’re thinking. Some examples:
• “I wonder what’s going to happen next?”
• “This part makes me feel _____ because _____.”
• “I imagine this to look like….”
• “This reminds me of….”
• “I like/don’t like this story because….”
After modeling a think-aloud, have your child do it. Listen to what your child says and make sure that it relates to what was read. Caution: It’s possible to spend too much time thinking aloud and get off track from the reading.
Mental images. While reading a story, describe or draw what you picture in your mind. Then have your child do the same thing. Explain that creating mental images is like seeing a movie in your mind while you read.
Asking questions. Good readers ask questions about what they are reading. Encourage your child to do the following:
• Ask questions about the story and look for the answers.
• Look for clarification or reread if something does not make sense.
• Make and verify predictions.
• Reflect on the reading.
• Establish the goal for reading.

Engage in conversation
What all these practices have in common is that children need to talk about their reading. Becoming engaged in conversation helps improve reading comprehension. As a parent, you provide the conversation—and the time.

About the author
Melody Patterson Zoch is a third grade teacher at Allan Elementary in Austin, Texas. She holds a master’s degree in education from Texas State University in San Marcos