Start with what you notice
What would make reading easier today?
These are starting points for practice, not a test. Pick one that matches a familiar task; there is no need to try every activity. If you are not sure which one fits, use the free reading check to try a few words and short texts without a score or reading-age label.
“We are just starting with letters and sounds.”
Ask the teacher which letter–sound pairs the class is using. A letter’s name and its sound are different: knowing the name “ess” does not yet show that a child can use /s/ to read.
Choose one familiar letter. Say its sound, let your child join in, and find it again on paper. If it is new, teach it together rather than making them guess.
Hear a letter sound and its example →For a spoken-word activity without printed letters, try First Sound: listen and choose a picture with the matching beginning sound. Hearing a beginning sound and reading a letter are different tasks; notice which one you are practicing.
“They say the sounds, but the word will not come together.”
Stay with one short word made from sounds they know. Model joining the sounds, say the word naturally, and check its meaning together. Do not add harder spellings just to keep moving.
Our first lesson models s, a, t → sat. Start there only after checking those sounds with your child; the lesson includes a meaning check and an adult handoff.
Try the supported first lesson →For more supported word practice, Stretchy Blend offers a sound-paced track; check that its words use familiar spellings. If your child still cannot join sounds, the knows sounds but cannot blend guide explains how to make the task smaller.
“They read short words. What comes next?”
Try a short sentence using spellings they have already learned. Help with an untaught word, then talk about what the sentence means. Reading faster is not the only goal.
The sentence practice lets a grown-up check the spelling set before starting. If a sentence needs lots of help, return to a familiar word instead of treating it as a failed level.
Read or print two illustrated short-a mini-books →Check the books’ sounds and helper words first. For a single sentence instead, choose sentence practice with familiar spellings.
If short-vowel blending is comfortable and you are introducing silent e, compare tap → tape and cap → cape with four practice words. Model the new a_e spelling first; it is not the next step for every child.
“A school report says they need more practice.”
Ask which skill the result refers to, what the teacher is teaching next, and what one home activity would support it. Keep the report’s name, date and wording for that conversation.
If it is a kindergarten DIBELS report, our guide separates letter names, spoken sounds and reading tasks. Its home activities are untimed practice, not the assessment or a way to predict a score.
Understand a kindergarten DIBELS report →
