March Is Reading Month: Supporting Reading Progress at Home and in Tutoring

March is Reading Month, a time to celebrate books, learning, and the lifelong skill of reading. It is also a great time for families to look closely at how their child is doing with reading and whether they are getting the right kind of support.

Reading should not feel like a daily struggle. When students are taught with clear, structured instruction, reading becomes easier, more accurate, and more automatic.

At Growing Through Dyslexia, we work with many students who have worked very hard but still find reading difficult. In most cases, the problem is not effort. The problem is that the student has not yet been taught in a way that matches how the brain learns to read.

Reading Progress Happens in a Pattern

When students receive effective reading instruction, progress usually happens in a predictable order:

• First, decoding improves (sounding out words)

• Then, reading becomes more fluent

• Finally, spelling begins to improve

Spelling often takes the longest because it requires the most repetition. This is normal and expected, even when students are making strong progress.

Practice at Home Can Make a Big Difference

Consistent practice between tutoring sessions can help students build stronger connections and gain confidence more quickly. Short, focused practice is usually more helpful than long, frustrating homework.

One activity I often recommend for home practice is Switch It from Reading Simplified.

Switch It is a simple word-changing activity where students spell a word, then change one sound at a time to make a new word. This helps students strengthen their sound-to-letter connections and improves decoding, spelling, and flexibility with words.

You can learn more about the activity here:https://readingsimplified.com/switch-it/

This type of practice works well because it keeps the focus on how words are built of sounds, instead of memorizing whole words.

Confidence Comes When Reading Makes Sense

One of the biggest changes we see during tutoring is confidence. Students who once guessed at words begin to read accurately. Students who avoided reading begin to participate. Students who struggled with spelling begin to understand why words are spelled the way they are.

When reading starts to make sense, learning becomes less stressful in every subject.

March Is a Great Time to Take the Next Step

If your child is still struggling with reading, it may be time to look at the type of instruction they are receiving. The right approach can make a big difference, even for older students.

If you would like to learn more about our online reading tutoring, dyslexia intervention, or academic testing, feel free to reach out. I am always happy to talk with families and help them understand their options.

📩 Message me to learn more or schedule a consultation.