Take time to help your student set short term (daily/weekly) reading goals. Make sure that their reading goals are attainable, measurable, and engender growth. After a week or so, reassess the difficulty of the goals with your student. If they are proving too difficult, dial them back. If you and your student feel they aren’t helping as much as you want them to, crank it up. As your student consistently fulfills their reading goals, they will naturally grow in ability, so raising the bar should always be part of the goal schedule’s future.
Accountability will help to ensure that the goals your student sets aren’t forgotten. Together, come up with a way to track the goals; calendar, checklist, phone reminders. Make sure to include something for your student to do that signifies that they’ve completed a goal; put a check on the list, cross out a calendar day, put a star next to it, record number of pages read or time spent. You can increase accountability by consistently following up with your student and encouraging them to stay on track, whether they have been successful or not. If helpful, you can come up with a small reward your student can give themselves if they are consistent in reaching their goals for a week or so.
