|
Self-Monitoring During Reading |
|
|
|
Many parents of 1st Graders have asked me how they can help their child at home to improve their reading level and reach our reading goals for the end of the year.
If your child is still reading below Level 6 by October of First Grade, you really need to try some new things and be consistent with the words that you use at home to help them.
Many parents of 1st Graders have asked me how they can help their child at home to improve their reading level and reach our reading goals for the end of the year.
These are some of my suggestions:
1. Sit next to them while they read to you… Do not point to the words; have them slide their finger underneath the words. Don’t do anything for them that they can do for themselves.
2. Do not tell them if they are right or wrong! Ask them: “Are you right?” after they read each page. Let them decide if they are right or wrong. Do not change your expression or body language to give them hints! They need to start monitoring if they are right or if they need to check something. They cannot improve their independent reading level if we continue to monitor for them.
3. If they say, “Yes” and they have made a mistake, ask them: “Did it sound right?” or “Did it look right?” or “Did it match the picture?”. In fact, I ask them whether or not they have made any mistakes.
Did is sound right - This question is to see if they are listening to themselves read. Did it sound funny or did it sound like something people would say? If they don’t listen to themselves read, they won’t be able to answer questions about their book.
Did it look right - This question is to see if they are looking at the letters while they read. If they run their finger under the word, will they find the letters that they would expect to see for the word they said?
Did it match the picture - This question is to see if what they read makes sense with the picture. If they said diver for driver and the picture has a truck or car in it, you would expect the word to be driver. Diver would not match the picture.
After they finish reading the entire book, please have them retell the story from the beginning to the end. If they cannot retell the story, have them read it again and retell each page. When they have finished, have them retell the entire story. Check to see if they are telling you only about the pictures, or it they are giving you information they obtained from reading the text. They have to be able to retell the story from beginning to end before they can pass a Reading Level. Comprehension is what the classroom teacher is testing them on. If they can read beautifully, but still don’t remember what they have read, they will fail in the regular classroom.
Shana Whitlock - HelpMeRead.com
|
