How to Help a Struggling Reader 

• What is the most common reason for lack of reading progress? Many students who do not progress well in reading struggle simply because they lack a solid phonics foundation. To improve reading skills, you should first try to identify at what point your student failed to gain the necessary understanding to move on in reading. For example, how many of these basic steps in reading can your student easily perform?
  1. Recognizes the letters/sounds of the alphabet.
  2. Blends a single consonant and a vowel together (sa, mu, fe, ti, ro).
  3. Can add an ending consonant sound to a blend to form a word (sat, mug, fed, tip, rod).
  4. Proficiently applies these one and two vowel rules:
     
     ONE VOWEL RULE: When there is one vowel in a short word, it usually says its short sound.
     
     TWO VOWEL RULE: When there are two vowels in a short word, the first one usually says its short sound; the second one is silent
  5. Easily reads consonant digraphs (ck, sh, ch, ng, th, wh); blends two or three consonants together with a vowel (bla, dre, spi, ste, smo, thru); and can add an ending consonant sound to form a giant blend word (black, dress, spill, step, smock, thrush).
  6. Proficiently reads vowel digraphs (ai, ea, ee, ie, ei, ie, oa, oe, ow, oo, ew, ue, ew, ue), modified vowels (ar, er, ir, or, ur), and diphthongs (ou, ow, oi, oy).
  7. Understands syllabication and where to place the accent (stress) in a word.
  8. Can reads paragraphs smoothly, with expression, from one line to the next.
  9. Proficiently reads words with vowel and consonant variants (those that don’t follow normal rules of pronunciation), silent letters, and prefixes/suffixes.
  10. Has developed good reading comprehension through these important skills: (1) clear enunciation of words, (2) grouping words together to sound like talking, (3) use of proper voice inflection, and (4) reading punctuation marks correctly

• How can I help my child improve reading skills? If your child isn’t very proficient in steps 1-5 above, he or she would benefit from going through our Level B Phonics Packages (parts 003 and 003B) and then Level C. If your child is only deficient in steps 6-10, we recommend the Levels C:2 and C:3 Phonics Package (part 004C).
• What should I do if the problem isn’t the lack of a phonics foundation? If a student has had a strong phonics foundation, and still isn’t progressing well, there may be an eye or hearing problem---or a learning disability. We first recommend that the child be screened by a pediatric ophthalmologist and audiologist. If everything is okay physically, then it is best to have the child tested for a possible learning disability. If it turns out that he or she does have difficulty in this area, don’t be alarmed. Most of these children have average or above average intelligence. They simply need extra help to compensate for an auditory or visual processing weakness which makes some types of learning---like reading---a little more difficult. Your diagnostician will probably make a recommendation regarding whether to pursue phonics further or to utilize a different approach.
  
  Note: There is a helpful article entitled “Detecting Learning Disabilities” at the beginning of Phonics Lessons for Flashcards 94-118 (item 321 under “Complete Phonics Program” in our online catalog). This was written by Katherine Grete, the former director of the Talent Development Program at Rocky Bayou Christian School in Niceville, Florida (where the Christ-Centered Curriculum originated).
  
  REMEMBER: Children with a learning disability will continually need encouragement. Therefore, it is important to be positive in how you relate to your struggling reader. So be asking the Lord for wisdom to establish reasonable expectations---those in accordance with your child’s individual God-given capabilities. Frequently remind your son or daughter that he or she is deeply loved, and can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13). Then faithfully pray for such strength. It’s a blessing to know that you can have great confidence in the fact that God is always faithful to answer scripturally based prayers (1 John 5:14-15).
  
  Note: To learn how to pray Scripture for your children, we recommend reading Dr. John Barnett’s exciting book, The Joy of a Word Filled Family. Click here for JWFF.

• How can I teach English as a second language---or help an adult who is a poor reader? Many adults who have struggled with reading, as well as foreigners wanting to learn English, have benefited greatly from going through our Christ-Centered Phonics Drill Reader (PDR). The introduction to the PDR explains how to teach a person to read. Its word lists (100 per page), phrases, sentences, and paragraphs cover these skills: initial consonant blends, short/long vowel words, consonant digraphs, consonant blends, suffixes (-es, -ed, -ing), vowel digraphs, modified vowels, diphthongs, consonant and vowel variants, silent letters, and words with prefixes/suffixes. The reader includes 1,000 words used in 90% of all reading materials. As students read through the book, they will learn five spiritual themes: Creation, the Fall, the Flood, the Law, and Grace. This makes the PDR an especially good tool for missionaries who want to teach spiritual truths as they help a person learn to read. A bonus is that faithful practice in this reader will help increase reading speed dramatically.
  
  Click here to access the Christ-Centered Phonics Drill Reader in our online catalog.