Ask The Reading Tutor

Why Do Children Fall Behind In School?

In my experience, children typically fall behind in school due to some form of lack of instruction. Perhaps they missed the instruction due to an absence, weren’t paying close enough attention when the lesson was presented, the material wasn’t repeated, or it wasn’t presented in their preferential learning style. Of course there are many reasons children don’t perform well in a subject area or fall behind. Be that as it may, offering customized lessons through tutoring and homeschooling tailored to specific educational needs is the key to success now and in the future.

My child is struggling with reading comprehension. What may be the cause?

Strong readers not only need to read accurately, but also need to read fluently to support their comprehension of text? Rereading is often necessary to confirm understanding, as well as to decide if they have made the correct word choice, or need to self correct. As children develop fluency they learn to accurately read print with timing and expression at an appropriate rate. Practice is the key to developing fluency. Likewise, an increase in reading accuracy will also increase a child’s reading rate. All areas of reading as well as accurate decoding and fluency, may need explicit individualized instruction, taught by a certified teacher in a tutoring or home education setting with lesson plans specifically designed for your child’s educational progress.