Support Stronger Reading Skills in Middle School

Elementary school focuses on building foundational reading skills like decoding, sight words, spelling, and punctuation. In middle school, they shift to more complex texts and strengthen comprehension and fluency across a variety of reading formats.  Explore a few strategies that make tackling more advanced reading feel achievable for your student. 

In middle school, teachers expect that students have the fundamental literacy skills they need to progress to more advanced reading. They will learn many different text genres and literary conventions within them. You might have heard teachers say that late elementary school students are shifting from learning to read to reading to learn. It’s true, students will receive less explicit literacy instruction in middle school. Instead, they will learn how to understand the purpose and content of what they read all subjects, from English to science to history.  

As a parent, it’s challenging to know how you can support your student with middle school reading. Here are a few tips to help your child continue to build their reading skills:  

Talk with them about what they read to develop their predicting skills. Predicting is an excellent way for students to preview text they read to ensure they identify and understand the main points and the author’s purpose. In fiction, chapters often leave readers with hints about what might happen next. Ask your child about the clues they notice. In nonfiction, text features like chapter summaries, side bars and visual elements can help readers prepare for what they will learn.  

Teach your child to activate their prior knowledge. When your child shares what they are reading in school, remind them to draw on their background knowledge to boost their comprehension. A fiction story might be similar to a previous experience your child has had, or a nonfiction text might have familiar content that your child has learned in a previous unit or in a different class. In middle school, making those connections between new information and existing knowledge is critical for students. You can help your child with this by reminding them of knowledge they – have that can build upon new material that their teacher introduces.  

Share some of the best practices of skimming and scanning. Skimming and scanning are useful strategies for reading nonfiction texts that save students time and direct their focus to the most important parts of the texts they read. Skimming is quick, efficient reading to get the “big picture” or overall meaning of a text. Scanning is searching for specific information, like a definition or date. Help your child practice skimming by having them read the first and last paragraphs of a text as well as any bold sub-headers or chapter titles and sharing what they learned. To help your child practice scanning, tell them to jot down notes of key details in the text—for example, the date of a historic event and the names of the people involved.  

Encourage your child to monitor their understanding. Part of becoming a strong reader is learning how to be self-aware of one’s understanding. Asking questions before, during and after reading is an excellent way for your child to develop their higher order thinking. Tell them to start every reading session with a few questions in mind about the text’s purpose or goal. Then, as they read, tell your child to pause and summarize what they’ve learned and identify the integral story or text elements. After they finish reading, your child should do the same thing and write down questions for their next reading session on the topic.

About Huntington  

Huntington Learning Center is the nation’s leading tutoring and test prep provider. We offer customized programs in person, online, and hybrid options. Our certified teachers provide individualized instruction in phonics, reading, writing, study skills, elementary and middle school math, Algebra through Calculus, Chemistry, and other sciences. It preps for the SAT and ACT, as well as state and standardized exams. Huntington’s programs develop the skills, confidence, and motivation to help students succeed and meet the needs of Common Core State Standards. Huntington is accredited by Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Founded in 1977, Huntington’s mission is to give every student the best education possible. Learn how Huntington can help at www.HuntingtonHelps.com and for franchising opportunities, visit www.HuntingtonFranchise.com.