How your child performs in 1st grade could affect the rest of their academic career. In fact, some experts believe that at this age, kids will start to not like school if they feel they aren’t as smart as their classmates. That’s why it’s so important for parents to ensure their kids stay on track—especially when it comes to reading.

Don’t let your child fall behind in reading during this critical school year. Here’s how to help my 1st grader with reading at home:

What Should A 1st Grader Be Able to Read?

Parents won’t be able to identify reading issues unless they know what their 1st grader should be capable of reading at this age. Kids should master these crucial reading skills in 1st grade:

• Understand the basic structure of a sentence, including the capitalized letter at the beginning and a period, question mark, or exclamation point at the end.
• Know how to break larger words down into syllables in order to sound them out.
• Broaden their sight word vocabulary so they can recognize and read more words by sight.
• Learn how adding a single letter, such as an “e” at the end of a word, can change the pronunciation and meaning of the word.
• Correctly answer questions regarding the text they are reading.
• Fluently read stories at their grade level.
  

If your child is struggling to develop these reading skills in 1st grade, they may need a little extra help to become a better reader.

How Much Should A 1st Grader Read A Day?

The only way to become a better reader is to practice. But how much should your child practice? It’s recommended that all children spend at least 20 minutes per day reading at home. This time can be spent reading together with an adult or reading independently, depending on your child’s skill level.

How Do You Motivate A 1st Grader to Read?

Struggling readers are often reluctant readers, which is why parents must motivate their 1st graders to read as much as possible. Here’s how to get your kids excited about reading:

• Reward them for reaching reading goals. If they finish a certain number of books, learn a specific number of new sight words, or reach another reading goal, give them a small reward to keep them motivated.
• Set up a comfortable “reading nook” in your home that your child will actually want to spend time in.
• Take your child to the library or bookstore and let them pick out their own books. If they choose something they are interested in, they are more likely to read it.
• Be a good role model. Make sure your child sees you reading as much as possible. If they see that you love reading, they are more likely to develop a love for reading themselves.

How Can I Help My 1st Grader With Reading?

There are a number of strategies that parents can implement at home to help their 1st graders improve their reading skills. Follow these tips:

• Ask your child to bring a story to life by acting it out instead of just reading it aloud. This gives your child the opportunity to act goofy, use funny voices, and have fun with reading. But it isn’t all fun and games—acting a story out also will improve their fluency and comprehension skills.
• Try echo reading. Read one sentence aloud and then instruct your child to read the same sentence aloud to you. This is called “modeling,” and it’s an effective way to help your child improve their fluency skills.
• Play word games and use flashcards to help your child broaden their sight word vocabulary.
• Show them how to use context clues found within the passage and in illustrations to figure out what an unfamiliar word means.
• Correct their mistakes. Listen to them read aloud and correct their pronunciation errors. But do it gently so they don’t become frustrated or lose confidence in their reading ability.

Why Should I Use Readability?

Teaching a child to read isn’t easy, but fortunately, help is available. Readability is the only smart reading and comprehension learning app that kids can use anytime, anywhere. It is designed to help kids at reading levels K-5 improve their phonics, fluency, and reading comprehension skills.

Using Readability, kids can follow along as the app reads stories aloud. Then, they will be prompted to read the story aloud on their own. The app will listen and immediately correct pronunciation errors so your child can learn from their mistakes. It’s just like working with a reading tutor!

Take advantage of this valuable reading resource by downloading the app and starting a free 7-day trial today.