Paraphrasing - A Great Reading Strategy
One strategy that you might try with your struggling reader is to help him/her paraphrase what he/she has read. Paraphrasing is saying the same thing that the author said, but in your own words. To help your child do this, you should do it several times yourself first. Read a paragraph together with your child. After reading, put the book aside and tell about what you read in your own words. If you can't remember something, or realize that you didn't understand something, look back and reread. Talk about your thinking with your child. After doing this several times, let your child try it on the next paragraph. Tell your student that it is important to make sure they understand what they have read so far before they read more. At first paraphrase paragraph by paragraph. After paragraphs are mastered, sections can be read before paraphrasing.
