A lot of kids struggle with reading. This is why it is so important to make reading fun for kids. One of the great things about homeschooling is that you know your kids better than anyone. You can also incorporate several different ways to make reading fun.

In my second part of how to run homeschooling lessons using The Autism Helper, Leveled Daily Curriculum, I am going to focus on reading.

 

How to organize

Before we work on our reading comprehension curriculum worksheets, I like to do some hands-on learning to get them started. I use the Leveled Daily Reading Comprehension curriculum to organize my lesson plans for the week and pull out some activities and books that go with the curriculum. Each of my boys are at different reading levels, so I am going to give examples of how I differentiate for each one.

Pre-reader Level

My son Ben is still learning letters and letter sounds. For reading we are working on letter identification and sounds, matching words, reading from left to right, vocabulary, and comprehension. Reading is really hard for Ben so I have to come up with different ways to make it fun for him. We use lots of puzzles, games, and flashcards to practice the skills we are working on. Ben prefers math activities so I found a letter formation puzzle from Lakeshore that he uses to recreate the pattern pieces just like the model. When he works on each of the letters, I say the letter name and sounds for him. I recorded letter sounds on his AAC device so that he could use it to make the sounds with me. We also use the AAC device while we read alphabet books. I made a folder on the device for every book and added pictures that are similar to the ones in the book so can learn new vocabulary and use it for comprehension questions.

Beginning reader- Using Level 1 Leveled Daily Reading Comprehension Curriculum

My youngest son, George communicates verbally somewhat, but also with an AAC device. George can identify all letters and sounds and say most of them. He uses his AAC device to read and match words in his books. We use simple alphabet books and he is learning how to build sentences like “A is for apple,” from his book. I also like to come up with activities for reading that can get them moving around so we can stretch our reading time. George loves letters, so I got him jumbo upper and lowercase magnets, along with alphabet sound magnets and he gets to move around by arranging them on the easel, while we say the letters, their sounds, and the words.

Developing reader- Using Level 2 Leveled Daily Reading Comprehension

Davyd can read very well, but he has trouble with comprehension and articulation. He is starting on Level 2 of The Autism Helper, Level Daily Reading Comprehension Curriculum, but to help with his comprehension, I give him beginning phonics readers with photos to help his comprehension. CVC words and rhyming words are helping his articulation. With Davyd, I have been practicing CVC words in a variety of ways. I have him build the words with magnet letters, play file folder games, read silly phonics readers, and answer questions about what is happening in the book for comprehension. I also find movie scripts online from parts of his favorite movies to teach him how to read with expression.

As with most things, when children are having fun, they will be more likely to want to participate. If you surround your child with books with characters that they like and activities that they find fun, you will teach them to love reading.