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Parent Strategies for the Middle Level Reader

The most important job of the parent with a student reader is to read to
and with your child.

The goal of every reader is to be a fluent reader - one who can slide easily
through the words and understands what is read.

Begin with reading to your child twenty minutes every day.

When a student reaches the intermediate or middle school grades reading becomes two-pronged. He/she may still be refining his/her learning-to-read skills while developing reading-for-information skills. Often this transition is a difficult period for a student. Assure your child that at any reading level, he/she can take charge of his/her own learning and grow to become a proficient reader.

As a parent you may have noticed that your child exhibits behaviors of a discouraged reader. He/she may avoid reading, show little interest in books and doesn't like to read to or with you. The child is aware of his/her lack of success in reading and will say, "I hate to read" or "I'm not a good reader". If your child is exhibiting any or all of the above behaviors it is important for you to keep a positive attitude and not become the discouraged parent of a discouraged reader. Every child can learn to read and read well.

All children are interested in something! Matching your child's interest with books is the best strategy to "jump-start" a discouraged reader. Brainstorm personal interests and help your child choose books that are aligned with those interests. You will be amazed at the renewed enthusiasm for books.

Select chapter books with interesting plots, which help promote and stir interest. Most chapter books contain a great deal of dialogue between characters. Most discouraged readers are not aware of the "talk" that happens between the characters. Parents can model how dialogue is to be read. With your child, take a part (much like what happens between characters in a play) and read with expression. Most students are helped greatly by this strategy. It is simple to do and can be fun!

Middle grade students are interested in the "real world". They show a strong interest in non-fiction books that explain the world around them. "Real world" categories can include sports, hunting, how things work and famous people. Reading captions, technical drawings, diagrams and charts are rich reading experiences found in these genres.

Never tell your child a book is too difficult for him/her to read. When a child has a desire to know something, they will find a new way to unlock the words and read for information. Be patient. If he/she comes to a hard word that is unfamiliar, use these prompts to help. Ask, "Are there any little words inside the big word that you know?" "Can you break the word into parts?" (Cover the prefixes and suffixes with your fingers). Model what breaking words apart looks like. Sometimes it is a good strategy to encourage your child to skip the word and read on. At the end of the sentence ask, "Do you know what word would make sense?"

Many discouraged readers do not understand how stories are organized. A parent (reading partner), reading one on one, can be effective in assisting the child to understand how stories are put together. Most stories have a beginning, middle, and and end. The beginning contains the character, the setting, and usually the problem of the story. The middle contains a sequence of events that solve the problem. The ending is a closure of the story. Prompt your child by asking, "Can you read me the words that describe the setting of the story?" Or "Can you re-read your favorite part of the story?" An effective prompt for summarizing a story is "Who, did what, then, so..." These prompts will help the child understand how all stories are organized and increase their ability to summarize the major ideas in the story.

For optimal reading growth continue to read to your child. Repeated readings are an excellent strategy to help your child develop fluency or the ability to slide easily through the printed text. Encourage silent reading daily and reading with others. Help your child expand his/her reading and speaking vocabulary by developing the ability to acquire new vocabulary in context.