

“Having books in the home library and rereading favorite books is a terrific way to build confidence in vocabulary and fluency.”Ĭreate a cozy environment to read in - even building a blanket fort adds to the magic! - and designate it as their special reading space, where it’s quiet and they can concentrate. “Creating a reading routine at home demonstrates the importance of reading,” says Burke. Reading books together and asking questions of your child to get their feedback on the material will feel like the joyful experience reading really is. Routines are incredibly helpful in this endeavor. “Oral language and conversations that are rich in ideas and concepts are key to building background knowledge and building confidence.” “Voluminous reading is key to helping a child acquire both vocabulary and knowledge,” says Burke. Similarly, starting a conversation about what thrills you about your own books will encourage your child to do the same. When your child sees how excited you get to read your own books and to dive back into them each day, it’ll spark a similar response in your child. Parents who regularly read themselves will model this love of reading for their children from an early age. You can then easily find the reading level of every book on The Scholastic Store, no matter what leveling system your child's teacher uses, to find the appropriate books to help them progress. From there, you can accurately determine how best to get their reading level up if needed.Īsk your child's teacher what your child's reading level is. Your teacher then determines reading comprehension, fluency, and accuracy and scores your child based on those factors. Normally, your child will read a benchmark book to their teacher and discuss it. Each of these methods of reading level determination are administered at the beginning of the year by your child’s teacher. There are several measurements by which your child’s reading level is determined. Children who are behind need to grow more than one year.” “Educators always want to see a child grow a minimum of one year in every grade level regardless of where they start. “Reading levels help parents understand where a child is at a certain time and how the child is progressing over time,” says Burke.
#2nd grader with kindergarten reading level how to#
Getting to know reading levels and their importance in your child’s ability to read will also help you come up with a game plan on how to improve reading level. The best way to get help and guidance is by connecting with your child's school district for support. Screening for dyslexia requires a trained expert. Sometimes, the underlying cause of reading struggles is dyslexia.

The child shows difficulty in decoding words.” “Some signs that your child might be struggling with reading are avoidance, slow labored oral reading, or selecting books quite a bit below the grade level and perhaps still struggling.

“Be sure to reach out to the school and your child’s teacher to understand your child’s areas for growth as a reader,” says Burke. It’s important to recognize the signs when they first appear, be it when you’re reading together at home or when your child is in school, by communicating with their teacher. Not all reading problems are the same - for example, your child may be struggling with reading comprehension, basics like phonics, or even the number of words they’re able to read per minute. Karen Burke, senior vice president of data analysis and academic planning at Scholastic, has some helpful tips on what to do to improve your child’s reading levels at home.įirst thing’s first: Identifying when and why your child is struggling with reading will help you better figure out the best approach on how to improve a child’s reading. Whether they’re struggling with reading comprehension or with basics like phonics and sounds, the good news is, this can be turned around with a few best practices that you can do at home! Most of the time, children fall behind on reading levels because they haven’t found books that they’re interested in, and can become frustrated with the reading process. As a parent, understanding reading levels and how best to encourage your child to continue reading even when they’re feeling discouraged is one of the best ways to turn things around. When your child is reading below their appropriate grade level, it can sometimes be difficult to know where to begin supporting their unique needs.
