Sound it out

"I am at a loss! How am I supposed to help my kid learn to read better, I tell them to sound it out, I mean what else can I say..."

Does this sound like you...

What to say besides "Sound it out"

1. Your job is to look at how things start.
2. Your job is to check the beginning of the word.
3. Your job is to put it all together.
4. Did you do your job?
5. Does that make sense?
6. Read all by yourself this time and try to make all the words match?
7. let me help you with the tricky part.

Question Techniques

I have been receiving some e-mail questions about how to question.
When you are working with your child some techniques to remember are:

1. Phrase questions clearly. Avoid vague questions.
2. Ask questions that are purposeful in achieving the lesson's intent.
3. Ask brief questions, because long ones are often unclear.
4. Ask questions that are thought provoking and demand original and evaluative thinking. Encourage your child to respond in some way to each question asked.
5. Avoid asking "yes-no" and 'leading' questions.
6. To stimulate thinking, probe your child's responses or demand support for his answers.
7. Provide your child with feedback about his responses both to motivate him and to let him know how he is doing.

I would say the most important thing to remember in questioning is to attempt to reach all of your child's cognitive skill levels.

Keep those e-mail questions coming! If I don't have the answer, I'll help you find it.