Helping Your Child Decode Words:
1. Look at the pictures.
2. Try to sound out the word.
3. Look at the beginning letters.
4. Look at the ending letters.
5. Look for a smaller word in the word.
We call this chunking!
Look for chunks in the word, such as ‘it’ in the word sit or “at” in the word bat.
6.Try to guess! What word makes sense? Does your guess look like the word you see?
7. Use the words around it.
8. Does the word look like another word he/she is familiar with? For example, does bed look like red? Go back and re-read. Does it sound right?
9. If your child says the wrong word while reading, ask questions
like:
Does it make sense?
Does it sound right?
Does it look right?
10. Go on and read to the end of the sentence. Often by reading the other words in context, your child can figure out the unknown word.