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Helping a poor reader gain
confidence
'Read'
the text: Let the
child read the story while listening to the tape - this is the first
step to reading.
Prepare
the book together: You prepare the print and they do the
illustrations (pictures are a very important cue in reading). Decide
on the cover together. You can even use photos or magazine pictures
(instead of illustrations) and write about what's happening in them.
At this
stage you can introduce conventions like:
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Putting the
author's (your child's) name and title on the front cover.
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Introducing the
title page - it also has the title and author's name on it - great
reinforcement.
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Back cover with
a publishing stamp on it - make your own!!
Let the
child read the story along with the tape: Gradually phase
the tape out as confidence builds. Praise every small achievement.
You may like to focus on specific words or sentences. eg you can ask
questions like "which word is ...", or "can you find the word....".
The words that are easiest to focus on are often the "interest"
words eg football, baseball etc, because the child
finds them interesting.
Keep
making books together: And keep reading the ones you have
made. Make building confidence your first priority - as it is often
half the battle of teaching a child to read.
Some of
the ideas in this article has been sourced from the book "Parents,
Teachers, Partners" by Barry Dwyer.
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