Tiffany Lam, Orton-Gillingham Reading Tutor

Almost all students have regression in skills over the summer. This is a normal thing, as students aren't in school and actively learning and practicing their newly learned skills. However, if it takes multiple months to regain those skills, then something extra needs to be done.

How can you prevent reading regression at home?

Pick the same time to practice reading at least 20 minutes per day. Your child can read for the full 20 minutes. You can read together. You can take turns reading - when you read, they should be following along with their finger to match pacing and intonation. Spending 20 minutes together a day can make a world of difference for your child's reading skills.

Pick out books that your child can read. Teachers will usually provide you with a reading level range. Pick something within that range so they can practice reading complex books. Decodables are also great because they focus on a specific phonics skill. These can be used to reinforce those skills your child learned in Kindergarten or first grade. Lastly, pick topics that your child likes to gain their interest in the book.

Most of us know that the letters c and g have 2 sounds. But do you know the rule for it? If we use our graphic of Gentle Cindy, we can see that her face is made of the letters e, i, and y.

When c or g comes before the vowels e, i, or y, they will say their soft sounds. The c says /s/ while the g says /j/.

This rule can be applied for the letter c all the time, but for letter g only sometimes. There are many exceptions to the rule for letter g, including the words get, girl, gill, etc. When your child reads words with letter g followed by e, i, or y, have them try both ways and identify which pronunciation is the real word.

Have you heard of structured literacy? Many educators are making the shift towards structured literacy for reading instruction. This explicit, systematic, and cumulative approach has been found to be effective and beneficial for all students learning to read.

Do you know when to use the ch vs. tch?

We use the letters tch following a short vowel in a single syllable word, such as words like catch, hitch, fetch, botch, and dutch.

We use the letters ch for all other patterns: at the beginning of a word, following a consonant, and following all other vowel patterns.

If you're unsure whether to use ch or tch, just remember this: If it's a single syllable with a short vowel, use at the end. Otherwise, use ch.

Hope this helps when you work with your child!

Rhyming is a fun way to develop word knowledge and phonological awareness. Many children can still become proficient readers without a solid grasp on rhyming words; however, I've found that children who can rhyme are able to identify word and spelling patterns more easily than those who can't. Once rhyming improves, I've noticed that my students' spelling improves quite dramatically!

Try these 3 activities that work on rhyme recognition, rhyme completion, and rhyme production at home.

Syllable blending is another crucial skill for phonological awareness and reading/spelling development. This is the ability to combine syllables into a word.

If your child has difficulty with this skill, try out these 3 activities to improve syllable blending, which will make reading an easier skill later on.

Syllable segmentation is a crucial step in phonological awareness and reading/spelling development. This is the ability to split a word down into its chunks or syllables.

A helpful tip for you to consider when working with your child is that each syllable contains 1 vowel sound. A vowel sound can contain 1-3 letters, depending on the grapheme associated with a particular sound. For example, we can spell the long i sound with letters i, i_e, ie, igh, or y.

The word lightbulb has 2 syllables: light - bulb. The word irresponsible has 5 syllables: ir - re - spon - si - ble.

If your young child has difficulty with syllable segmentation, try these activities to improve this skill! When your child can easily segment syllables, one step of the spelling process will become much easier for them.

Many prefixes have multiple meanings and require context to determine its meaning within a particular word.

The prefix un- means not, opposite, or to undo.

In the word unhappy, prefix un- means not or opposite. It wouldn't make sense for it to mean undo happy. We wouldn't say, "That girl is undo happy." We say, "That girl is unhappy."

In the word unpack, prefix un- means to undo. It doesn't mean not pack or the opposite of pack. We wouldn't say, "They did the opposite of pack." We say, "They did undo their packing." If we were to say, "They did not pack." This sentence by itself would make sense, but not in the context of the sentence. Most people don't use the word unpack to mean that they didn't pack. They use the word unpack to mean that they are undoing their packing.

What would the prefix un- mean in these words: unzip, unsatisfied, unafraid?

The schwa is the most common sound in the English language. It is the third vowel sound and sounds like a short /u/ or /i/, depending on the word.

When your child practices reading multisyllabic words, they should try all 3 vowel sounds if a syllable can be split in two different ways.

For example, the word alchemy can be split:
al / che / my
al / chem / y

The middle syllable can be sounded out 3 ways: long vowel (kee), short vowel (keh), and schwa (kuh) sounds.

In the word alchemy, the right pronunciation is the schwa pronunciation.

This is such an important reminder for parents, teachers, and tutors. Sometimes, showing up might be the best that our students can do for the day. And that's okay.

People with dyslexia are unique and special, just as with everyone else. Their gifts outweigh their challenges with learning, and they bring so much to the world.

Have you read the book The Gifts of Dyslexia by Ronald D. Davis?