Parent’s Point of View #102: How to Help My Struggling 2nd Grader

A combination of many learning factors in the second grade could cause a reading hurdle in your child. It can be harder if your child lacks fluency and sounding skills. Feelings of being overwhelmed can further cause them frustration and anxiety, making them seem like late readers. Fortunately, providing them with the right support and increasing their reading practice can help them to catch up with others.

Besides practicing in school, a struggling reader should also practice at home. Encourage your child to read for about 20 minutes per day. If they are disoriented, encourage the entire family to engage in the reading practice. This way, reading will be more fun than a chore or punishment.

A second-grader should easily understand a story and the main idea in the story. Should summarize the main idea in the story and omit unnecessary content. A second-grader should also relate the story to real life. They should read about 80 words per minute by the end of the second-grade level. Should recognize about 90% of words in a story and should read varying texts.

Please encourage them to read aloud regularly. Encourage your child to reread a story to gain fluency and comprehension. Discuss what they are reading to improve their understanding. Ask questions after the end of the reading. Supplement what they are reading in class by getting books with similar topics. Work closely with the teacher and raise any concerns with them.

Let them know that we write for a reason. You can, for instance, write in their presence and explain to them to whom you are writing and why. Encourage them to write letters or stories about family or things they like. Concentrate more on their content than on their handwriting and spelling. If you suspect they have a learning disability ask for help from their teacher and pediatrician. Encourage them to take notes when they go out and later to read their stories aloud. Be a good audience and genuinely praise them.

Give them writing freedom without dwelling too much on their mistakes. Please provide them with writing materials and a good working space. Encourage them to write for a purpose and praise them for their creativity. Treat them as ‘authors’ and their work as real books. Compile their work into a book and store them with other books. Importantly, be a good audience for their work.

You may notice a visual perception breakdown when your child writes. For example, they may not successfully align their work on the left margin. Secondly, the child may have problems spacing letters and words and mixing upper and lower cases inappropriately. You could also notice that they can’t write complete sentences but can verbally formulate them.

Read the problem loudly, and circle the numbers for easier finding during the solving process. Identify and mark all keywords for a better understanding of the question. You can draw out the problem or use illustrations for further understanding of the problem.

Use real-life objects and tools when doing the math to make it real. Secondly, Reward effort rather than ability or grades, and speak positively of math.  Use food portions such as pizza or fruits to demonstrate fractions.  Use the money to count and subtract. Use actual clocks to practice telling time. Lastly, play math games and read interesting books on the same.

Be a good role model by doing math and enjoying them in their presence. Familiarize your child with math in real life. Please help your child with homework and use incentives to make it more fun. Help them deal with their fears and anxiety about math.

Please help them to get rid of math myths, such as math is complex. Create a love for math by speaking positively about it. Make math part of your daily life at home. Encourage making mistakes since it’s one way of learning. Provide enough space and time to practice math, Praise their effort and reward it.