In the early grades children are learning to read. Around third and fourth grade they are expected to read to learn, using books to understand science, social studies, and even math word problems, while words get longer and sentences more complex. A child who got by in second grade can suddenly feel lost. It does not mean something is wrong with your child. It means the demands changed.

Read together for 15 minutes a day, build fluency by rereading a short passage three or four times and trying echo reading, teach your child to break long words into syllables and look for prefixes and endings, and talk about what you read with who, what, where, why, and how questions. Keep sessions short and positive, praise effort, and let your child choose some of the books.

If you have worked at home for a few weeks and your child is still stuck, if reading is causing tears, or if you see several warning signs, such as getting stuck on long words, guessing from pictures, slow and choppy reading, avoiding reading, or not being able to retell what was read, ask the school about an evaluation or work with a reading specialist who uses structured, step-by-step instruction.