Helping children with their reading is one of a Teaching Assistant’s most important tasks. It can be difficult finding ways to support students that are struggling, but using some tried and tested reading strategies can help.
What reading strategies work?
- Reduce pressure -it’s reallyimportant to be patient with children that are learning to read. It can also help to find a quieter corner, where they can read to you away from other children. Most people are more confident without a big audience.
- Make it fun – children are more likely to want to learn when they enjoy what they’re doing. Play a game, or get them to complete tasks online. Reading doesn’t have to be sitting in front of a book.
- Try non-fiction – not all children like stories, so find out what they do enjoy. If your student loves cars, or horses, ask them to read about them.
- Bring the book to life – ask your students to use expression and different voices for characters. Show them that reading doesn’t have to be boring. You could even pick a character each to read out.
- Ask questions – find out what your students think about the story, what has happened or what might happen next. Make sure that they understand what they are reading and not just learning how to say the words.
- Break up words – if a child hasn’t heard a word before then get them to break it up into smaller, more manageable parts.
- Use flashcards -help your students to put words together and see how to make a longer word from shorter words.
What are your reading strategies?
Did you find something really worked with your children? What are your top tips for helping students? Let us know.
If you would love to make a difference and have lots of ideas for making reading fun, you might have the skills to be a Teaching Assistant.
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