Questions on advanced reading skills:

Q: My child is reading very well for her age. However, she needs to begin moving from the easier books to more complex books. Is there a way I can help her advance the higher level skills? How can I help my students make the transition from easy reading material to higher demands and complexities they begin to face in 3rd and 4th grade? Although many of my students can read the easy material they struggle with multisyllable words and lack the necessary comprehension skills. How can I help students make the shift from ‘learning how to read’ to ‘reading to learn’? How can teachers help students advance from simple decoding to higher level reading? How can I help my child learn higher level reading skills?

A: While correct phonologic processing provides the necessary foundation for accurate and effortless decoding, proficient reading is more complex and requires the development of higher level advanced skills.  To become a skilled or proficient reader, the student still needs to develop higher level advanced skills in handling multisyllable words, building fluency, expanding vocabulary and developing comprehension skills. See the article Advanced Skills Necessary for Proficient Reading: Overview of Key Higher Level or Advanced Reading Skills


While a strong direct systematic phonics program establishes the foundation of correct phonologic processing, this is only the beginning. The student still needs to develop advanced skills. These advanced skills are all enhanced by direct instruction. You can effectively help your child or student acquire important higher level reading skills.  The following articles provide specific information on how you can help your child develop higher level reading skills.  


Guided reading is one of the most effective tools for helping students develop advanced reading skills. For information read the article: The Importance of Guided Reading! The Significant Benefits of Guided Reading and Specific Instructions on How To Use Guided Reading to Help Your Child or Student Advance Reading Skills

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These questions were answered by Miscese Gagen a mother with a passion for teaching children to read proficiently by using effective methods. She is also a successful reading tutor and author of the reading instructional programs Right Track Reading Lessons and Back on the Right Track Reading Lessons. The purpose of this article is to empower parents and teachers with information on teaching children how to read. We CAN improve reading proficiency, one student at a time!  More information is located at www.righttrackreading.com ~  Copyright 2004-2013 Miscese R. Gagen