Motivating Struggling Readers

This article shares 5 examples of ways to motivate struggling readers.
http://www.imaginelearning.com/blog/index.php/2010/07/five-strategies-for-motivating-your-struggling-reader/

A way not mentioned in the article to motivate students to read is to give them interesting books as gifts. This Christmas my niece will be receiving a set of 10 easy readers that are winter themed as part of the gifts that I have purchased for her. Magazine subscriptions are also a way to get reluctant readers to read. For recommendations on the best books of the year check out this link: http://imaginationsoup.net/2010/11/2010-holiday-gift-guide-kids-books-best-recommended-gifts-presents/

What Good Readers Do- Older Grades

Have a student that during independent reading time will read out loud rather than silently?
Check out the link below!  One of the things that you will learn is how to help a student transition from reading out loud to being able to read silently and still comprehend the text.
                                     http://jc-schools.net/read6-12/Good%20Readers.ppt

This is PowerPoint  presentation that you can share with older students. It discusses many of the different thought processes and questions that students should be asking themselves before, during, and after reading. These questions could also be used to check students' comprehension after reading through a text.

If there's any strategies that you use in your classroom or with your child that you did not find in the presentation, leave a comment so that others can learn from your expertise!

Background Knowledge

One common problem for struggling readers is having difficulty with reading comprehension. There are many causes for students not comprehending what they have read including spending too much energy on decoding the text. An easy fix is to lower the difficulty of the reading material so that less energy is spent on word calling so that more attention can be given to comprehension. Another reason for lack of comprehension is that students do not have background knowledge on the topic. It is important to build background knowledge prior to starting a new story and continually activate student knowledge and connections while reading the text.
One way that you could activate background knowledge is to use a quick video of the topic from websites such as  http://www.youtube.com/ or share one of your personal experiences that relates to the text. Not only do videos increase students background knowledge but it gives them motivation for reading. For more information about background knowledge, read this article: http://www.bnkst.edu/literacyguide/back.html

Parent Tips for Reading at Home with K-2 Students

This video suggests a variety of ways that you can help improve your child's reading comprehension by: making predictions, taking picture walks, and talking to your children about what they read. Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXijm36S_AI&feature=related

Readers' Theater

One of the easiest ways to help children to increase their reading fluency is to encourage them to reread materials that they have already read. There are many ways to encourage children to reread including: having them read in a particular voice (happy, sad, scared, etc...), perform their reading to an audience, and using readers' theaters. Readers' theaters work well when they are performed in small groups.There are many readers' theater resources available online, one of the websites that I often visit for reader's theater scripts is: http://www.mandygregory.com/readers_theater.htm#Where%20Can%20I%20Find%20Scripts

Books to Use with Struggling Readers

Although leveled books are important to have students read when they are first learning to read they should not be the only books that students have access to during independent reading times. It is important to find a balance between the easy readers and picture books that will engage even the reluctant readers. Below is an article that discusses this topic in more detail. http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/322.cfm

Phonics Instruction

Struggling readers need to be explicitly taught phonics in order to develop basic reading skills.
I have been looking for new instructional materials to help make progress with my beginning readers. While at the teacher store, I came across the book shown below. I did a little investigating online to get consumers feedback on how useful the text was for them in their teaching position. After reading through multiple positive feedback and evaluating the text for ease of use and application, I decided to purchase it. I think that this will help my phonics instruction be more precise and sequential. If you are looking for a way to improve your phonics instruction for teaching small groups then I would recommend you check into this book.

                                     
Available for purchase online at http://www.amazon.com/Systematic-Sequential-Phonics-They-Use/dp/0887245811/ref=pd_sim_t_3