Model good reading habits by reading in front of your child, reading with your child and investing in a home library or checking out library books. Parents who value reading and books raise children who do the same.
Help your child master reading by teaching phonemes. Research by the National Reading Panel concludes that phoneme awareness is a critical skill for reading. Phonemes are the basic elements of a word, for instance the word "go" has two phonemes g-o; the word "check" has three ch-e-ck. There are approximately 41 phonemes in the English language.
Teach with phonics rather than focusing on sight-word mastery. The National Reading Panel found that a sequential phonics program works much better for teaching children to read than does teaching a sight-word vocabulary. To help your child with phonics, ask your child's teacher for suggestions or go to the library and check out books on teaching phonics.
Get your child to read aloud to you every day. Guided oral reading is a key component in reading fluency, according to the National Reading Panel. Help decode with phonics skills words the child stumbles over. If the child experiences frustration in reading, alternate reading pages, or even sentences if necessary.
Discuss together the books your child reads to aid in comprehension skills, making certain to ask plenty of open-ended questions. Reading comprehension is an integral part of reading success. Talking about books your child reads will improve comprehension.