Over the past few weeks, I have shared tips on improving your children’s reading accuracy and pacing. I hope you have found them helpful, as I’ll be sharing the final set of tips to conclude this series.
(9) Highlight punctuations if he ignores them.
If your child is reading the text without pausing after a comma or full stop, you can highlight the punctuation with a highlighter. After which, read the text and show him how to pause between each of those punctuation. You can also perform some interesting rhythmic action after each pause (like tapping your leg) to further engage your child and allow him to memorise such pauses more effectively.
(10) Let him read a story and retell it in his own words.
Pick a storybook that your child has never read before and let him read it. After he’s done, either ask him to retell the story in his own words, or ask him questions about the story content. Do not allow him to make up his own characters and story details that are not in the original plot!
The goal here is to make him understand that if he reads too fast or inaccurately, he won’t be able to remember the content as effectively. Once he understands this problem, he will see that the point is to slowly read the text and understand what it means as opposed to rushing through it.
Let him read the story again and acknowledge the difference in his comprehension level. Congratulate him on his understanding.