How to Help Slow Readers

Encouragement from educators and parents can be a tremendous help to children who struggle with reading skills. Some children struggle with phonetics and word pronunciation, while others need extra time to understand the semantics or plot of a text. Fortunately, there are several strategies you can use to help your student or child to improve their reading speed. Parents can spend time reading with their child each day, and educators can present slow readers with a variety of in-class and at-home reading resources.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Encouraging Slow Readers

1
Minimize distractions while the child is reading. It’s hard for slow readers to concentrate and make progress in a stimulating, distracting environment. If your child struggles to read at home, ask them to work in a quiet room, away from distracting friends or television and without their computer.^{[1]XResearch source}
- Also ask your child to focus on the text they’re reading. Let them know that daydreaming or losing focus will only make the reading take longer.
2
Use flashcards to help struggling readers recognize troublesome words. Many slow readers around grades 2 and 3 are adept at sounding out new words, but struggle to retain words’ spelling, meaning, and pronunciation. Help your students by putting words on flashcards and quizzing students on their meaning and pronunciation.^{[2]XTrustworthy SourceUnderstoodNonprofit organization dedicated to resources and support to people with thinking differences, such as ADHD or dyslexiaGo to source}
- Once a student identifies and pronounces a word, say, “Great job! Now can you use that word in a sentence?”
- You can turn it into a fun game for the students by giving students a small reward (e.g., a piece of candy or ‘gold star’) after each correct guess.
3
Set modest reading goals for the student. Be realistic with the goals you set for the child. For example, if they’re 2 grade levels behind in their reading, aim to help the child advance 1 reading level each semester.^{[3]XResearch source}
- Even smaller goals can work: ask the child to read 6 books a month, and gradually increase the difficulty of the books as months go by.
4
Assign struggling readers level-appropriate books in small groups. Group reading helps children at similar reading levels learn together. Children who might otherwise be too bashful to speak up in a class setting will be able to engage and learn with their peers in a group of 4-5 students. Group work will also help slow readers recognize common words in a book and help them engage in the book’s narrative.^{[4]XResearch source}
- This approach works well for students in grades 4 or 5. Younger children may not have the patience to work together reading a book.
- Students in middle or high school may benefit from participating in mandatory reading groups in which several students read and discuss the same novel or story.
5
Praise students when they improve their reading speed or word pronunciation. Students who read very slowly often feel unintelligent, especially if the majority of their peers are stronger readers. Bolster students’ self-esteem by highlighting their accomplishments as they improve their reading skills. This sort of encouragement—especially when coming from a teacher—will help struggling readers feel better about their reading proficiency.^{[5]XResearch source}
- Say to a struggling reader, “I know you’ve been having trouble reading, but you did a great job sounding out most of the words in this book! I can tell that you’ve been practicing your reading, and the improvement shows.”
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Breaking Down the Reading Process

1
Help slow readers sound out the vowels in troublesome words. If your child struggles with pronouncing words, or fails to recognize common words, you can help by encouraging the child to figure out the vowel sounds before consonant sounds. Help readers develop by encouraging them to sound out the word in one try, without stopping partway thorough. This will increase their reading speed and competence.^{[6]XResearch source}
- Vowel sounds shift in English, and are often difficult for young readers.
- For example, if your child is hung up on the word “phone,” they may pronounce it “phony” or “foon.” Remind them that the “e” at the end of the word makes the “o” long.
2
Encourage slow readers to master short words before moving on to long. Elementary-age readers should be able to instantly read, pronounce, and understand 1-syllable words before moving onto multisyllabic words. Help your child sound out the individual letters in words like “c-a-t,” “h-a-t,” “j-o-b,” “f-i-t,” “s-i-t,” “p-a-t,” and “d-o-g.” Then encourage the child to string these sounds together, pronounce the full word, and recognize the word when it appears on the page.^{[7]XResearch source}
- Learning to rapidly identify and pronounce 1-syllable words will boost your child’s confidence and allow them to enjoy reading more.
3
Ask slow readers to move line by line using an index card. Many slow readers struggle to keep their place on the page or jump from line to line as they read. In this case, give the child a note card and instruct them to hold the card across the page. Ask the reader to move the card down the page whenever they finish a line, so that only 1 line of new text can be seen at a time.
- If you don’t have note cards nearby, instruct the reader to hold their finger horizontally across the page for the same purpose.
4
Ask students to look up words they don’t recognize. Slow readers will often struggle to sound out, pronounce, and understand the meaning of a single word several times in a row. To work around this, ask the reader to look up words that slow down their reading process. Then, when the students come across the word again in their text, remind them that they already looked the word up.^{[8]XResearch source}
- Say something like, “Remember, you looked that word up in the dictionary a few minutes ago. Do you remember what the dictionary said?”
5
Ask higher-level readers to “preview” a text. When working with struggling middle school or high school students, encourage them to “preview” the text and get a rough idea what the text’s major themes and topics are. If readers have a rough idea of what to expect in a text, they’ll be able to move through the reading more quickly and with less confusion.^{[9]XResearch source}
- If you like, you can compare this to a movie preview, which helps audiences understand the broad point and narrative of a film before watching the entire movie.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Reading with Slow Readers

1
Read out loud to your child daily. Spend about 30 minutes reading to your child each day. Hearing texts read out loud will pique your child’s interest in reading. Your child will benefit from hearing you pronounce words correctly and inflect your voice to match emotions expressed in the text.^{[10]XResearch source} You can also answer any questions that your child asks about comprehension or word meaning.
- If your child is already reading at an advanced level, they’ll be able to take an interest in the plot of the text you’re reading to then.
- If you don’t have time to read to your child each day, aim to read to them at least 3 or 4 times a week.
2
Ask questions to help your child engage with the content of their reading. Slow readers often lose interest in the book they’re reading or convince themselves that reading isn’t fun. You can help them re-engage with the material they’re reading by asking questions about the characters, plot, and setting of a book.^{[11]XResearch source}
- Also use questions to help your older children become curious about more complex narratives and elaborate worlds with compelling characters and plots.
- If your child is already disillusioned with reading, share with them a couple of positive stories that reflect the importance reading has had in your own life. Make reading sound fun!
3
Look for signs of dyslexia. If your child continues to read slowly or struggles to retain reading skills, they may be dyslexic. Children with dyslexia often have a hard time with word recognition. For example, a dyslexic child will recognize a certain word on one line of text, and then be unable to recognize the same word on the next line.^{[12]XResearch source}
- Certainly not all kids who read slowly are dyslexic. However, if your child does have dyslexia, a prompt diagnosis will benefit both you and your child.
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Expert Q&A

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How do you keep kids engaged in read aloud?
Soren Rosier, PhD
Teacher & Education Researcher
Soren Rosier is an Education Expert based in Palo Alto, CA. He is the founder of PeerTeach, a platform that empowers students to grow their leadership, confidence, and love of math through AI-powered peer tutoring. Additionally, he is an instructor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, where he teaches courses on designing impactful tools for learning. Before beginning his PhD, he taught middle school in Oakland, developed teacher training programs, and evaluated the efficacy of popular ed tech products at SRI International. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a PhD in Learning Sciences & Technology Design at Stanford University.
Soren Rosier, PhD
Teacher & Education Researcher
Expert Answer
Have all of the students in the group use their finger to track along with the person who's reading out loud.
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Tips

If your child is struggling to read a level-appropriate book, offer to take turns reading with them. For example, switch off reading 1 page at a time. This will keep your child engaged in the text without over-taxing their reading skills.
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