---
title: How to help kids with reading at home
description: "How can you help kids get better at reading? Get tips to help kids build and improve reading skills at home.\n"
slug: how-to-help-your-child-with-reading
author: Gretchen Vierstra, MA
reviewer: Bob Cunningham, EdM
published: '2019-08-05T15:37:27.581Z'
thumbnail: https://cdn-images.understood.org/p0qf7j048i0q/rVW2CnqgQTyiO3SwuqgIy/21caa329671d1d0f1b347645fddd0987/G1308030164.png
source_url: https://www.understood.org/en/articles/how-to-help-your-child-with-reading
lang: en
---

# How to help kids with reading at home

Learning to read is a process. Some kids learn quickly and easily. Others may struggle with reading and need extra help. If reading is hard for kids, there are ways to help them improve at home. 

The first step to helping kids with reading is knowing what areas need improvement. There’s a lot that goes into reading, from sounding out words to understanding what you read. 

If you’re not sure what areas kids need help with, talk with the teacher. Ask about the skills kids are having difficulty with and how you can best help at home. There may be techniques teachers use in the classroom that you can try at home. One is to use kids’ senses, like touch or sound, to practice reading skills.

Sometimes kids might also need extra encouragement. Start by explaining that everyone has challenges and strengths. Then give kids specific praise for working hard at reading. And let kids know that their skills will keep improving over time. 

There are many low-cost tools that can help kids with reading. Graphic organizers can help kids keep track of their thoughts when reading. For example, kids can use this graphic organizer to help them keep track of the elements of a story. 

[Story elements graphic organizer](https://cdn-assets.understood.org/p0qf7j048i0q/3d8cd310dbb449f9b151448cb4266468_en-US/b9c8e66062bf9e4bcdf600e1e734b03a/Story_Elements_Understood.pdf)

---

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