It’s always great to encourage your child and give them praise as they are reading. It’s important, however, to make this praise specific.

Instead of saying “wow, you’re a great reader!” pick out something specific that makes them a great reader. You could say: “You worked really hard to use context clues to figure out that tough word.” This phrase lets your child know that you are proud of them for their hard work and reinforces the use of specific reading strategies that they can continue using to improve. This will also communicate that you are not proud of your child only when they succeed, but also when they try their best.

It’s always great to encourage your child and give them praise as they are reading. It’s important, however, to make this praise specific.

Instead of saying “wow, you’re a great reader!” pick out something specific that makes them a great reader. You could say: “You worked really hard to use context clues to figure out that tough word.” This phrase lets your child know that you are proud of them for their hard work and reinforces the use of specific reading strategies that they can continue using to improve. This will also communicate that you are not proud of your child only when they succeed, but also when they try their best.