Support LD Children with Reading

Here is a complete checklist of what you need to do to assist the learning disabled child with reading. The inability to read is one of the most common complaints from teachers and parents with students exhibiting a learning disabilities. There are several items to think about to foster reading and to help with comprehension. Use this checklist to guide you to better assist the reluctant reader.

1. Do you make the time to read aloud to the child each day?
2. Do you ensure that the following strategies are used to encourage the child to focus on meaning:

   Discuss the selection/book prior to reading by asking, what the child thinks the selection/book will be about.

   Discuss the content?

   Ensure that the level of reading is appropriate and that the selection will be meaningful to the child?

3. Do you: Ensure that reading occurs each day? Let the child select their own reading materials? Provide a variety of books at the child's level of difficulty? Talk about the reading that the child has done? Demonstrate respect for the child's opinion? Spend MORE time on reading than on follow-up activities? This is important, too much time on follow up activities can turn children off of reading.
4. Do you ensure that the child has access to a variety of reading materials such as picture books, student generated material, novels, magazines, comic strips, reference articles, news items, poems, rhymes, mysteries, instructions/directions, reports etc?
5. Do you make sure that there is opportunities for: silent reading, listening to tapes, shared reading, guided reading, chime style reading etc.?
6. During reading, are your groupings mixed? For instance, are there opportunities for individual, small group, large group, specific interest group, whole class?
7. When reading with the child do you help them to: Predict words? Skip over it and determine the meaning from context? Use sounding techniques?
8. Do you use good questioning techniques that will foster higher level thinking skills such as: Ask the child to make predictions, comparisons, hypothesis, and make inferences? Do you ask about cause and effect and whether he/she can distinguis fact from fiction or opinion? Do you ask the child to relate the literature to his/her own experience?
9. Lastly, do you: Involve volunteers? encourage support at home? Invite parents into the classroom? Provide information to parents and volunteers about reading processes?

Children benefit from good modeling. If you tend to let them see you take enjoyment in reading, take an interest in everything they read, they too will begin to see reading as a pleasurable activity. When reading is enjoyed, it will naturally get better!