After You Have Been Reading Aloud to Your Child it is Time to Start Guided Readin

Guided Reading is when the children can read by themselves. With guided reading always start with something easy to read to help build confidence. Usually your child should be able to understand about 90% of the book. It is better to start with picture books so your child can look at the pictures to get the words. Now this is where phonics comes in. If your child can read the word phonetically then she will hear the word. You should see the lights come on in her face when she recognizes the word. When children first start to say words phonetically they usually say them too slow so they don’t mean anything. You must say, “Say the word faster.” You may find some kids have problems running the phonics together so instead of saying a word they say each phonic sound. With practice they will get better. Guided reading is about planting reading strategies in your child’s mind. If she gets stuck on a word ask if there is any part of the word she knows. For example the word ‘bear.’ Ask if she can see part of the word she understands and if she says ‘ear’ then ask her to pronounce ‘ear’ with a ‘b’ in front. This way your child learns how to read new words by using what she already knows. When your child gets stuck on a word you should not say the word straight away. It is better to let your child try and work it out by herself. Guided reading is letting your child take responsibility for her reading by letting her decide what she wants to read. When a child is reading a book she wants to read she will try but the opposite is usually true for books your child does not want to read.If you have trouble with phonics I found this course to be very good.