12 Ways to Encourage and Motivate a Struggling Reader

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Watching your child struggle with reading can be heartbreaking as a homeschooling parent, especially when you begin to see their confidence and motivation plummeting as a result. We have certainly faced that situation in our family! 

We saw huge improvement in these areas by focusing on two things: 1) having a plan for helping them improve their reading skills, and 2) employing practical strategies that encourage and motivate our struggling reader. 

Whether your child is just beginning their reading journey or has been struggling for a while, the following tips can make a significant difference in their progress and overall attitude toward reading! ❤️

Disclosure: *This post may include affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the disclosures and terms for more information.

This post is sponsored by Lexercise, which is a program we use regularly in our homeschool. All opines are my own. 

First, Determine Why They’re Struggling 

Different children may struggle with reading for different reasons. It’s important to take time to observe their reading frustrations and try to determine what is causing them. 

• Are they really ready to start reading? Generally, kids learn to read from a range of age 5-9. Our kids have been all over that range.  
• Is a change in the instructional approach or curriculum needed? Sometimes just slowing down or taking a break helps. Or you could consider moving to a curriculum designed for a struggling reader. 
• Are there attention or behavior issues you could work with them? Or strategies you could come up with in your lessons that would help accommodate these issues? 
• Could they have a vision problem that warrants a visit to an eye doctor or specialist? (Problems could be mechanical or involve processing issues.) 
• Do they have dyslexia? If you suspect it might be dyslexia, look up some of the signs and try getting an evaluation. It could provide you with helpful strategies and tools. 

Just a few areas to keep in mind and explore with your student! Regardless of why your child is struggling with reading, there are several ways you can help them stay positive and grow in their reading skills. 

 12 Ways to Encourage and Motivate a Struggling Reader

Here are twelve strategies that we’ve found most effective for encouraging and motivating our struggling readers. 

1. Don’t Panic!

Don’t panic or stress that your child is behind. As they say, the only “behind” in homeschooling is the one you’re sitting on. 😉 (Remember, children learn to read within a fairly wide age range, and most will even out in reading skills in the upper grades.)  

Working out a plan for making progress is wonderful. But allowing yourself or your child to get caught up in stress or worry about where they are in relation to other children or the public school system is unnecessary and leads to anxiety. Homeschooling gives you the freedom of options and the time to go at your child’s pace. So take that time and remember that you’re looking for overall growth and progress. 

2. Create an Environment that Encourages Reading

There are several ways to set up an environment that encourages reading: 

• Set the example – Read books, magazines, or newspapers yourself and let them see you doing it. Even if it takes a long time to work through a book. (Busy mamas, here! Most often they see me reading my Bible. Do what you can in this season.) 
• Strew interesting books – Find picture books, chapter books, magazines. Go for a variety of various topics, genres, and difficulty levels. Display them where they’ll be seen and picked up! You can use a coffee table or a display bookshelf like this one.
• Create book nooks and baskets – Place bookshelves, crates, and baskets of books around the house. Add a fun chair or beanbag for a quick book nook. Get bedside book holders, too, for each kid. We even let ours have them in bed with little lights to read by. 
• Make family reading a habit – Regular read-alouds or listening to audiobooks together is a wonderful habit that shows them the value of reading. 
• Read with friends – Take littles to a library story-time, invite their friends over for story-and-tea-time at your house, or help your older kids form a book club. 
• Make regular trips to the library together – While we’re pretty careful to screen books before checking out, and we take great advantage of the online catalog and hold system, going for regular library visits helps us explore new books and book-related activities together!
• Have time each day for reading or other quiet play – Set a time each day for “quiet time” where kids can play or read quietly in their room. It’s a gift for mamas, too. 🙂 You could read, prepare dinner, or just take a moment to catch your breath! 

3. Use Hands-On Helpers and Movement

Some kids need to move to be able to focus and really learn, and that’s perfectly okay! Incorporating hands-on activities and movement into reading can make a big difference.  Here are some ways you can do that: 

• Use letter tiles for building words
• Trace sandpaper letters
• Do a sight word scavenger hunt
• Use index cards to create word cards to build sentences with (learned this one from Lexercise)
• Draw pictures that help your child remember how a word sounds or is spelled (another one we learned from Lexercise)
• Enjoy these word game ideas for fun practice and reinforcement 
• Jump on a trampoline while practicing sight words
• For example, I’ve used letter tiles, tracing sandpaper letters, or even jumping on a trampoline while practicing sight words. 
• Before starting reading lessons, go on a short walk or have them do jumprope, an obstacle course, run laps around the house, etc.
• If they need a break, stop and do simple exercises like stretching, jumping jacks, running in place, etc.

Multi-sensory approaches like this help engage different parts of the brain, making it easier for your child to absorb what they’re learning. And physical activity can also help your child re-focus when they need a break.

4. Have (and Set) Reasonable Expectations

We already touched on having the right perspective and not comparing our child to other students or where they are with reading. One of the biggest lessons I learned with my struggling readers is to have reasonable expectations of what progress will look like and how long it might take. Progress is progress, no matter how slow it may seem. Encouraging our kids when they struggle and celebrating their progress is key. 

With a learning challenge like dyslexia, too, progress isn’t always linear. Coaching my struggling reader on what he should expect was important. He knows now that some days he’ll feel like he’s rocking it and other days it’s like he forgot everything. We’ve both learned to go with the flow, expecting the ups and downs but keeping our eye on overall progress. (It also may be a good idea to keep any evaluation results to yourself if they’re struggling, so as not to discourage them.)

5. Read the Text Together

Reading books together with your child can be done in various ways. 

• listen as they read aloud and jump in if they hit a tricky part
• read most of it yourself and pause to let them jump in on sentences you know they can handle
• take turns reading sentences or pages
• ask questions and have discussions as you go
• if you have multiple readers in the home, do a choral reading of a poem, book quote, or Bible passage

Reading together like this is worth the time and effort it takes. Here are some of the benefits:

• helps them feel less nervous about their ability to read the book
• provides support when they hit a tricky word or sentence
• models fluent reading and help them navigate challenging words
• helps them read longer without getting fatigued
• they can ask and answer questions to process what they read and aid comprehension
• creates a wonderful bonding experience with you!

6 Let Them Read the Same Books Again (and Again)

Repetition is key to mastering any skill, and reading is no different. It’s perfectly okay if your child wants to read the same book over and over again. In fact, I encourage it! Re-reading familiar text helps build fluency and confidence. With each reading, they’ll recognize more words and understand the story better, making it a positive and reinforcing experience.

Rather than fretting that they’re re-reading the books all the time, focus on finding other books to entice them. Looking for books with similar topics or similar style and level of difficulty can help you expand their horizons a bit and find their next favorite series. 

7. Choose the Right Books to Read

If you want to encourage your child to read, find books that will make that experience more enjoyable for them. We curate books from somewhat of a range in difficulty level, focusing on bringing in books that our struggling reader is interested in. If it ends up being too challenging for them, we will sit down together and read it using the tips from #6 above. 

I also have no problem with letting them choose easier texts for light reading. My goal is for them to love reading and pursue it on their own! Offering books that are at or just below your child’s reading level helps build confidence. So if you find your child sticking to a certain series because it’s easier to read, go ahead and let them! You can introduce other books along the way. 

Graphic novels can also be a bit hit. Even ones with more complex language may be enjoyed by your child because of the visual context clues provided. Ours have enjoyed Tin Tin, some of Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales, Garfield, Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, and classic books adapted as graphic novels, such as Robin Hood and Treasure Island.

Taking this approach is easy and effective, rather than trying to find the books that are “at level” for them. If you’d like more guidance on choosing books, I find the 5-finger rule from Reading Rockets helpful.

If you have a dyslexic reader, there are books written with their challenges in mind. They could be a great option if you’re struggling to find books your child will read. Here are some options to look into.

8. Read Aloud and Use Audiobooks

Reading aloud to your child is a wonderful way to expose them to richer language and stories they might not be able to read on their own. They allow my child to enjoy more complex stories without the struggle of decoding every word. This keeps their love of stories alive while they work on building their reading skills. 

We try to have one read-aloud going at all times. But I am also a busy mama with 6! So we are HUGE fans of using audiobooks for entertainment and for homeschooling. We can listen to them at the table, while playing quietly, in the car, or the kids can listen to them on their own. Learn where to find audiobooks and how to maximize them in your homeschool. 

Benefits for struggling students who listen to read-alouds and audiobooks:

• improves listening skills
• expands vocabulary
• models fluent reading
• aids comprehension
• sparks interest in stories and books
• helps them enjoy more advanced content
• helps keep focus and attention
• can be adjusted to the most comfortable speed
• can provide a shared reading experience
• and more!

9. Avoid Frustration and Stay Positive

It’s important to keep the reading experience positive. If you sense your child is becoming frustrated, take a break. Taking calming breaths together or picking things up a little later can work well. As I mentioned earlier, dyslexic kiddos in particular can have ups and downs with reading. As long as they’re making overall progress, they’re on track. So when they’re having a rough session or rough day, it’s ok to just set it aside and try again later. 

The attitude and words we parents bring to the table is important, too. If we push them too hard or start to show irritation, their attitude and confidence will plummet. We don’t want them to have a negative association with reading and their abilities. Instead, we want to work on keeping the atmosphere light and encouraging. Be flexible to make adjustments (taking a break, reading together, etc.) if they hit a rough spot.

I once heard that the words we speak to our children become their internal dialogue. It’s so true, friends. Let’s set them up for success! Practice responses and words that encourage them and build them up. Find ways to handle our own thoughts and frustrations without leaking it out on them. Remind ourselves and them that are ups and downs are to be expected and tomorrow’s a new day!

Side note about reading in front of others: You may come across situations at church or other group activities where your student is asked to read aloud. This can be terrifying and discouraging for a struggling reader. Consider talking to the teacher/leader ahead of time to let them know that your child is a struggling reader, so if they want them to read something in front of others, please provide it ahead of time so they can practice. Let your child know that this is the proactive strategy they can use, too! They can ask for a copy of the text to review for a few minutes or take home and practice if needed. 

10. Make Reading Fun

The more fun you can make reading, the more your child will want to do it. I’ve found that incorporating games, a variety of reading materials, and following their interests can turn reading into something they look forward to. 

Here are some ideas:

• Play Games that Practice Reading or Writing: Games like Scrabble Junior, Boggle, or even homemade flashcards can make reading practice feel like playtime. Fun reading challenges for the summer or holidays can be fun, too. Prodigy has a list of simple and free hands-on games you can do with your kids. My dyslexic kiddo uses Lexercise games with his daily lessons in that program, which he loves.  
• Read from a Variety of Sources: Don’t limit reading to books alone. Comics, magazines, recipes, or even game instructions can be great reading practice. 
• Follow Their Interests: Find ways to incorporate the things that spark their interests most. If your child is passionate about dinosaurs, gather several dinosaur books and see which ones your child enjoys most. Interest-led reading is often the most engaging and rewarding.

11. Celebrate Wins and True Progress

When reading doesn’t come naturally for a child, acknowledging their progress is even more essential. Celebrate the small victories, like mastering a new word, finishing a lessons, or completing a book, as well as the bigger milestones. 

• When our kids are first learning to read, we use a sticker chart to visually track progress through lessons. When it’s full, we celebrate with a special treat or activity.
• My child using Lexercise (the online dyslexia therapy program we love) enjoyed the rewards system that is built-in and finds it very motivating.
• When my children finish a book appropriate for their developmental level, they get a checkmark on a chart that eventually gains them an extra hour of screen time for that week. Be creative!
• And remember, verbal rewards and hugs are motivating as well. 

12. Use the Best Reading Instruction Tools

When we’re teaching our children to read, we have a few favorite resources. But we have to be even pickier for those that struggle with reading. In our experience, that big book of 100 lessons I relied on for my other kids may not work for them at all! 

Here are some things to keep in mind when you’re choosing reading instruction tools for your struggling reader: 

• Use a structured literacy (Orton-Gillingham) program – This is a multisensory, interactive approach to reading instruction that is backed by research and brings results! It’s especially helpful for dyslexic students.  
• Make sure it’s engaging and fun for your student – Find a resource that will elevate your child’s reading experience instead of becoming drudgery. 
• Look for support and resource for the you as the teaching parent – Learning how to encourage and teach your struggling reader takes educating ourselves. It’s helpful to find resources that aid you in that endeavor and provide extra support when needed!
• Find a curriculum that easily plugs into your homeschool and family life – We look for something with relatively short lessons, no need to travel to therapy sessions or tutoring, and that adapts to the student’s needs. 

A Top Recommendation: Lexercise Online Dyslexia Program! 

One of our sons has dyslexia and has struggled with reading and spelling. Lexercise has been a game-changer in our homeschool and has helped him read with fluency and gain loads of confidence! 

Lexercise ticks ALL the boxes for best reading instruction tools that I listed above. Here’s what I particularly appreciate about it: 

• Uses the Orton-Gillingham approach — the gold standard for dyslexia support.
• More affordable than expensive tutors and programs.
• Simple and less teacher-intensive than some other resources out there (as a busy homeschool mom, this is important to me).
• Lessons are interactive and automatically adjust based on input.
• Easily fits into your homeschool routines — no need to travel to appointments!
• Access to a dyslexia therapist and fantastic support for me as the teaching parent. 
• Fun games and the chance to earn points as they progress.
• My son even told someone that Lexercise is his favorite part of homeschool right now. 🥰

If your child has dyslexia or you think they might, I highly recommend you check Lexercise! PLUS you can get 40% off when you use the code PROVERBIAL 🙌 

I hope these tips and resources are a blessing to you!

~ Tauna 💕