One of the most important things you can do when teaching your child to read is to provide lots of reading practice. That’s why the All About Reading program includes such a wide variety of activities, games, and decodable stories. But sometimes things don’t go perfectly according to plan!
Learning to read can be hard work! Many kids see this as a fun challenge, but some kids just get discouraged.
So what do you do if your child hits a roadblock and suddenly doesn’t enjoy reading the short stories?
This post will give you lots of solid ideas to get your child back on track—and enjoying reading again. Let’s dig in!
The first step is to get to the root of the problem. Ask yourself these questions:
After you’ve ruled out underlying reading issues, you can tackle the problem head-on. Whether you’re using All About Reading or not, here are some suggestions:
Set a timer. Have your student read until the timer goes off. Choose the length of time according to your student’s ability and attention span. You may need to start with a short time such as three minutes, and then gradually build up to ten minutes.
Divide the story into two or three parts. Have your student read just one section in a sitting. Bookmark the page. At the next reading session, have your student listen as you reread the part he has already read, and then have him continue reading on his own.
Reread. Rereading stories from previous lessons will help your student gain fluency and confidence. During subsequent readings, your child will be “warmed up,” allowing him to experience better comprehension and helping him to enjoy the stories more.
Try buddy reading. Split up the reading duties by reading with your student. Alternate pages by reading a page yourself and then having your student read the next. For more practice, try buddy reading twice, switching pages each time, and then have your child read the story on his own.
Review. The more familiar a child is with the words in a story, the easier it will be for him to read the story. So be sure to spend plenty of extra time reviewing words with flashcards, activities, and Practice Sheets before reading the story.
Encourage your child. Reading stories takes a lot of mental effort—especially for kids who haven’t yet developed automaticity (the ability to read the words without conscious thought). The other tips in this section will help as your child develops automaticity, but be extra supportive in the meantime.
Do you have a child who is struggling with the stories? Sometimes it only takes a little extra push to build a child’s motivation to read, but if your child continues to struggle, please know that we are here to help.
Stacie McGregor
says:So helpful! Thank you!
Stacie McGregor
says:So helpful! Thank you!!
Jacqueline
says:The specific, systematic & explicit reading instruction of AAR can’t be beat. This program really is effective for every child learning to read.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceOh, thank you, Jacqueline! What a great review!
Katie
says:These tips are very helpful. My child reads single words and even sentences fine, but he gets frustrated or tiresome when the story length extends or there are several sentences on a page. We will be trying these out to make the program an even better fit for us than it already is.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI hope this find these tips helpful for your child, Katie! However, if you need additional ideas or help, please let us know.
Rena
says:Buddy reading really helped my son when we started this program. We’re in AAR level 3 now and he usually reads the stories all by himself, but on the days he feels overwhelmed we will go back to buddy reading. He’s also not a big fan of the practice sheets, so we usually do some kind of activity with them so he can still get the practice. We really enjoy AAR!!!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceRena,
Thank you for sharing how buddy reading has helped your son with reading! And I love that you find activities to help make the fluency practice sheets more enjoyable!
Jennifer Anderson
says:My daughter loves reading these stories. We do benefit from shared reading, and taking 2 days per lesson
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m pleased to hear that your daughter is enjoying the stories and that you are using some of the tips here with them. Thank you for sharing, Jennifer!
Amanda
says:I’m going to try the re-reading strategy this week! I think my son will like it and help encourage him to see the progress he has made.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’d love to hear how rereading goes with your son, Amanda! It was an important activity for my youngest child and helped her to master fluent reading.
rebecca
says:re-reading is a really great idea. it gives kids a feeling of success because they have better understanding of what they are reading
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceSo true, Rebecca!
Renatta
says:We love buddy reading at our house. It’s less daunting for my dyslexic kiddos, and we can make great forward progress without getting exhausted so quickly. Thanks for the other suggestions too!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad to hear that buddy reading is working out well in your house, Renatta! I hope you find the other suggestions as helpful.
Nicole
says:The buddy reading strategy really helped my son when he was first getting started.
He doesn’t like the practice sheets, so using AAR’s tips for turning them into games or breaking them up has really helped. He likes doing the flashcards, especially because he doesn’t have to be sitting at the table to do them.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad the tips for helping with the fluency practice sheets have been helpful, Nicole. I love that you find ways to work on flashcards without sitting at the table too!
Mandi
says:This program has made a huge difference in my son’s reading and spelling!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceWonderful, Mandi!
Julianne
says:We love all about reading Level 1 so far and look forward to continuing!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceGreat to hear, Julianne!
Nanette Schow
says:Thank you for sharing these helpful tips!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Nanette!
Cara
says:This is awesome, thank you – exactly what I needed to see!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Cara! I’m glad this was helpful.
Rosa DeVoe
says:We are just 2 weeks into to the All About Reading program and are already seeing a beautiful increase in my son’s reading confidence. I love how each lesson uses the same words in multiple different ways to make the next step less overwhelming.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m so pleased to hear you are already seeing an increase in your son’s confidence in reading, Rosa! How exciting! Thank you for sharing.
V. Butler
says:This has been the only spelling program to work for my son!! So grateful that I found it and gave it a try!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m so pleased to hear that All About Spelling is working well for your son!
MADELYN D Dwyer
says:Thank you for all the free resources and advice!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou are so welcome, Madelyn!
Bethany Jackson
says:Thanks for the tips! I can’t wait to try this with my boys!
Allison
says:My daughter’s reading fluency has improved so much with AAR! I love that the stories are decodable for her and don’t include any sounds that haven’t been taught. Thank you so much!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThis is great to hear, Allison! I’m glad that All About Reading is helping your daughter to read with fluency.
Sheri Knowlton
says:AAR has been a game changer in our homeschool classroom. It has helped our little one feel confident in reading and develop a love for it. A lot of these tips are really great tips that we already use and a few new ones. Setting a timer has been huge for us.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceOh, I’m so pleased to hear that All About Reading has been so helpful for your homeschool, Sheri! We love confident readers!
Karri Miller
says:Terrific tips! Thank you!
Nicole McDermott
says:Love all of these ideas to make reading more enjoyable! We like the timer and buddy reading options here.
Sarah
says:Such great tips! Thank you!
StephanieF
says:Setting a timer has been the best motivator for us!
Michelle
says:My kids love the stories. I have them read the stories from our lessons to their dad after work for extra practice
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceRereading the stories to someone else like dad or a grandparent is a wonderful way to get more reading practice plus more encouragement! Great idea, Michelle!
Ximena
says:We can’t wait to try this program with our students.
Erin
says:All about Spelling is making my daughter confident in her writing abilities!
Elaina
says:My kids love these decodable stories! We do re-read some for extra fluency and confidence.
Cristina
says:Thanks for tips!
Bethany Feltham
says:This is such a great resource, love the idea of breaking things up to make it less intimidating.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThank you, Bethany!