Sound It Out!!
Probably the most commonly used phrase when addressing a child who is 'stuck' on a word when reading is "sound it out." If your child has been in school for a few years receiving traditional primary grade level instruction, it is most likely expected that he; therefore, should be able to 'sound out' a word. However, this is simply not the case for many learners. By the time your child is in third grade and still struggling with reading at the 'word level', comments such as or similiar to 'he is just not working to his potential', 'he is lazy', or he 'doesn't pay attention' may be expressions you yourself have used, or those who work with him at the educational level have used. Furthermore, by the time the same child reaches middle school, his lack of being able to 'sound out a word' (or other academic struggles) may become the underlying cause of disruptive classroom behaviors or a refusal to do homework at home.
While it would be imprudent to suggest that there aren't situations where lack of effort, lack of motivation to learn, and behavior issues actually may be the cause of some problems with learning to read, more often than not, it is actually due to the differences your child may have in learning to read rather than the aforementioned concerns. Lack of effort, lack of motivation to learn, and behavior issues may actually be an ultimate result of severe struggles in being able to learn to read.
There is a not one-size fit all prescription for learning to read. Even though the process of learning to read may be the same across the board, the methods used in teaching a child to read often need to vary to meet an individuals learning needs. Approximately four out of five children can learn to read with relative ease using whatever program, strategies, or methods are being used in the classroom. However, approximately one out of every five children, which is about four to five children per average classroom, do not learn to read with anything akin to the word 'ease.' These students require instructional strategies that will meet their learning needs. This may simply mean using the current program, but in a more intense and scaffolded manner, or it may mean putting additional interventions in place.