My child can't read yet. What do I do?

By Michelle Tucker
©2010 Michelle Tucker

     About a month ago, I had a friend, who is the mother of a 6 year old, ask me about her daughter's inability to read.  Her daughter had  finished Kindergarten and was preparing to enter First Grade.  She explained that her daughter knew the sounds for the English letters, but could not read any words.  I explained that there are sight words at the kindergarten level, for example: "I, am, and , the" and others.  She said her daughter couldn't read any of these.  Then, I went on to explain that she should be able to blend C-V-C (consonant, vowel, consonant) words, such as: "cat, dog, bug, run" and others.  Again, sadly, her daughter couldn't read these words.   Worse, the school didn't send home any flash cards, "Shared Reading" books or such to help.  I knew the family and this girl.  With experience as a Resource Specialist, I knew this girl's reading delay was not due to a disability or disorder.
     Let me say that, if your school has failed to teach your child the fundamental that I mentioned above, there are better choices.  There are excellent charter schools (free).  Make sure the school follows federal law in using a researched based reading program.  Ask for intervention help, if your child isn't reading, or is behind.  Ask for things to do at home.  Many good school, like the one I'm involved with, have a reading tutoring program.  If a child finished Kindergarten and is in First Grade, he/she needs to:
- learn grade appropriate sight words
- practice reading comprehension
- read aloud to another person
- practice fluency (reading at a normal pace with expression)
- learn vocabulary in the context of grade appropriate books
- practice phonemic awareness
- identify phonological patterns or "chunks"
- re-read the book, again, aloud
     If you have additional questions about this, I am more than happy to answer them.
Written by Michelle Tucker, "My Ask the Teacher"


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