When students decode words slowly or inaccurately, they use up mental energy on sounding out letters rather than understanding meaning. Fluency—reading at an appropriate pace with proper expression—frees up cognitive resources for comprehension. A tutor helps build fluency through repeated exposure to decodable texts, sight word practice, and guided oral reading, which directly improves a student's ability to understand and retain what they read.

Irregular words like 'the,' 'said,' 'of,' and 'was' don't follow standard phonetic patterns, so students can't decode them by applying phonics rules alone. These high-frequency words must be learned by sight to build reading fluency—students encounter them constantly in texts. A tutor uses spaced repetition and engaging practice activities to help students automatize sight words so they can focus on decoding the phonetically regular words around them.

Look for improvements in decoding unfamiliar words, increased reading speed without sacrificing accuracy, and growing confidence with multi-syllabic words. A tutor will track progress through running records, phonemic awareness assessments, and decoding fluency checks—concrete measures that show which phonetic patterns a student has mastered and where additional support is needed. Regular progress monitoring helps adjust instruction to keep your child challenged but not frustrated.

Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in words—like recognizing that 'cat' has three sounds or that 'bat' and 'cat' rhyme. Phonics is the connection between those sounds and their written letter symbols. Both are essential: students need strong phonemic awareness before phonics instruction is effective. A tutor assesses both skills and may use activities like sound sequencing, blending, and segmentation to build the foundation phonics requires.

Struggling readers often have gaps in foundational phonetic knowledge that compound over time. A tutor uses diagnostic assessment to pinpoint exactly which phonics skills are missing, then provides intensive, systematic instruction with immediate feedback and plenty of practice with decodable texts. This personalized approach accelerates progress because instruction targets the specific gaps holding a student back, rather than moving through a generic curriculum at a pace that doesn't match their needs.

Multisensory techniques engage multiple learning pathways—sight, sound, touch, and movement—to reinforce letter-sound connections. Examples include tracing letters while saying sounds, using textured letter tiles, or acting out phonetic patterns. Research shows these approaches are particularly effective for students with dyslexia or phonological processing difficulties because they create stronger neural pathways for sound-symbol associations. A tutor trained in multisensory methods can adapt techniques to match how your child learns best.

Ask your tutor for specific decodable books and word lists matched to the phonics skills being taught—reading these together reinforces what your child is learning in sessions. Practice brief, playful activities like sound hunts (finding words that start with a target sound) or making rhyming lists. Avoid correcting your child harshly; instead, model correct pronunciation and celebrate effort. Your tutor can provide a home practice plan that takes just 10-15 minutes daily and complements their personalized instruction.