Helping children with reading difficulties starts with a simple idea: most young readers do not extract meaning from words just by looking at them. Spoken language is the engine of thought, so reading needs to be tied back to speech at every stage.
Below are twelve practical strategies drawn from the work of Elisabeth Nuyts. They aim to free up the thinking process, help children grasp what a text actually says, and build real understanding rather than word-scanning. You can use them at home, one small step at a time.
Quick takeaways
- Read aloud together so speech supports meaning at every step.
- Encourage a quiet inner voice during reading and writing.
- Pause often and ask the child to describe the mental picture.
- Always ask "How do you know?" to build justified answers.
- Use chronology games and picture cards to strengthen sequencing.
- End with open questions that link the text to real life.
Reading aloud and subvocalising
Start by having children read aloud. Silent visualisation alone rarely carries meaning for most pupils, so pair speech with each step of basic learning: the words heard help connect the circuits that support understanding. If you are unsure whether a difficulty needs extra support, learn the warning signs before you begin, and remember that we parents the first model children imitate.
Then encourage subvocalising, the quiet inner voice. Many children are taught to read silently, write with a closed mouth, or listen without noting anything down. Those who cannot analyse what they hear, and who no longer hear themselves inside their heads, gradually stop hearing themselves think.
Dictating words before writing
Only a small minority of people read directly, without effective or inner speech. Getting a child to dictate words to themselves before writing builds the habit of talking aloud or under the breath, and good writing habits carry straight over into reading. The same patient, step-by-step approach helps when choosing small mammals.
Pausing for mental images
Speaking aloud or in your head is necessary for understanding words, but not enough for sentences. Children also need time to picture the scene. As one educator put it, evocation is the mother of comprehension.
Ask children to pause often and describe what they see in their heads after each sentence or paragraph, depending on age and level. That inner "film" is what lets them understand and remember a text. A rich vocabulary makes those images sharper, so consider how to choose a book to feed the pictures.
Questions that build intelligence
Use analytical prompts: Where does the scene take place? How do you know? What is the weather like? How many characters are there, and how can you tell? What is this object for, and which clues guided you?
The key question is "How do you see it?" or "What makes you say that?" If you always ask it, the child learns to justify answers instead of scanning for the matching word. For difficult texts, ask linear questions after each sentence first, then move to broader ones. Just as you would check contraceptives after childbirth with a professional, tailor each question to the child's level.
| Strategy | Skill trained | Simple first step |
|---|---|---|
| Reading aloud | Word meaning | Take turns reading a paragraph |
| Subvocalising | Inner speech | Whisper the words together |
| Mental images | Comprehension | Describe the scene after each sentence |
| Analytical questions | Reasoning | Ask "What makes you say that?" |
| Chronology games | Time and order | Act out three actions, then retell |
| Sequencing cards | Logic | Shuffle pictures and reorder them |
Opening questions and real life
Opening questions widen a child's general knowledge. Ask them at the end of the analysis and connect the text to what the child knows from life, so they can build bridges between books and the world. This was the purpose of the traditional object lessons that followed reading.
For a text set on a lifeguarded beach, you might ask: are all beaches supervised? How can you tell? What flags stand near the lookout posts, and what are those posts for? What could you take along to go fishing? Keep it conversational and let the child reason aloud.
The deeper goal is autonomy: children should learn to ask themselves analytical questions while reading, so they can check their own understanding. A child who questions the text becomes a reader who notices when meaning slips away.
Chronology games and sequencing
Work on time perception and chronology to help children reconnect with the temporal side of thinking. Ask the child to leave the room and come back when called, then immediately perform an action, such as throwing dice.
Have them say what they did and identify the first action: "When I came in, I threw the dice." If the answer is wrong, replay the scene. Then set four different actions, ask for them in order, write the sentences, shuffle them and have the child reorder them. Repeat with new actions until it feels easy. For younger children, number learning games can build the same sense of order.
Moving to complex sentences
Later, try harder pairs: "When you arrived, I had already eaten" or "As soon as he heard the noise in the cellar, he went down." Which action came first? Open questions help if needed. Sequential picture cards extend the same logic, letting children order images and explain the links between them. Quiet table activities like these pair well with independent play toys so the child can practise alone. As with supporting someone after loss, patience and gentle pacing matter.
Building the habit day by day
None of these strategies works overnight. Short, regular sessions beat long ones, and praise for effort matters more than correcting every mistake. Read together, take turns, and let the child hear your own inner commentary as you picture a scene.
Keep the tone playful. A child who associates reading with curiosity rather than testing will keep coming back to books. Simple routines, a comfortable spot and a few minutes of focused attention each day are enough to make progress visible over time.
My hands-on take
When I first tried the "describe what you see" pause with my own child, I expected blank stares. Instead, after a few sessions, he started interrupting the story to tell me about the colours of a room the author never described. That moment convinced me that comprehension is built in pictures, not just in words.
What helped most was keeping sessions tiny and never turning them into a test. We played the ordering game with everyday actions, laughed at the mistakes, and read aloud in silly voices. Progress came slowly, but it came, and reading stopped feeling like a chore for both of us.
Frequently asked questions
How often should we practise these strategies?
Short daily sessions work better than occasional long ones. A few minutes of reading aloud, picturing and questioning is enough to build the habit without tiring the child.
What if my child refuses to read aloud?
Start with whispering or reading to you in turns, and keep sessions very short. The goal is comfort with spoken words, not performance, so let the child choose easy texts at first.
Can these activities be done with any book?
Yes, most work with any story or short text. Picture books suit younger children, while longer texts allow richer analytical and opening questions as the child progresses.
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