Does your child struggle with reading and you want to help them improve? Or do you just want to get your child ahead of the game and teach them to read at an earlier age than average? If so, I would like to give you a big high five for being willing to help your child to develop this important skill. Reading is by far one of the most important skills your child can learn. Not only does reading help open a child’s world and spread imagination, but it also helps to enhance social skills, is required for self-sufficiency, and it’s fun!
First… Why does anyone struggle to read in the first place?
Aside from a genuine disinterest in reading or a learning disability, the number one reason most people, especially children struggle with reading is because they did not START with phonics which is a solid foundation for learning how to read fluently. Most people learn to read by first learning all 27 letters in the alphabet by name, and then sight words and so on, this method is usually referred to as “Sight Reading”. The problem with sight reading is that children often learn to memorize words instead of learning how to properly de-code words. This creates problems down the line when children start to read more advanced literature and come across a word they do not already know or haven’t memorized. Beginning with phonics right from the start is arguably one of the BEST ways to encourage strong readers.
So, what is phonics?
The definition of phonics is a method of teaching people to read by correlating sound with letters or groups of letters in an alphabetic writing system, according to the Oxford dictionary. Phonics teaches children the sounds that different letter combinations make so that they can SOUND out words they do not know.
Here Are 5 Simple Steps to help your child to read.
1) Begin with the Letter sounds
Skip teaching the names of the letters in the alphabet and start with teaching letter Sounds. Gasp! I know, this sounds like such a crime, but trust me, you and your child will surely appreciate this in the long haul. You will want to either print, purchase, or make your own flash cards with index cards and a black marker. You will want to keep the text plain and preferably black and white, you will also want to start with lower-case letters, since this is what is common in standard text. The cute stuff is just that, cute, but it can hinder or slow down progress. The Phonics Primer book is also a GREAT resource in helping with phonics progression.
2) Move On to 2 & 3 letter blends
After your child has mastered each letter sound and can quickly and confidently say out loud each letter sound when shown the appropriate card, you will want to move on to 2 letter blends such as bl; pl; ha; gr; st; and so forth. Again, once your child has mastered the 2 letter blends you will then want to progress to 3 letter blends, such as C-AT and D-O-G. “The Right to read Foundation” has an EXCELLENT free resource for learning sounds and beginning reading and can help take the guess work out of teaching phonics.
3) Move on to Bobs Books
Congratulations! Once you have mastered letter blends, your child is ready to read! I recommend Bob’s books because they are true beginner’s reading books. Although there are similar books on the market such as First Little readers, these are geared for more advanced readers. Not for new readers transitioning from letter blending. I recommend starting with Bob’s Books; Set 1 and working your way up the box set.
Step 4) Teach Digraphs & Vowel Teams
Once your child is confident reading sentences with two and three letter words you can begin teaching digraphs and vowel teams. You can choose to teach vowel sounds at this time BUT I personally chose not to. Since the child has already learned the short vowel sounds as the very first step in language learning, and will go on to learn the vowel teams which naturally teach the long vowel sounds, I deemed this step unnecessary. I did, however, introduce this concept, but did not focus on it too much at all, and my children are reading well above their grade level.
Step 5) Read aloud... consistently
okay, I cannot stress this enough! It is EXTREMELY important to read aloud to your children in order to get them exposed to literacy and to help them become strong readers in the future. When they see and hear words read by a confident adult, this helps to build their own comfort, confidence in reading and reassures them that reading is fun and nothing to be afraid of. Read VERY often to your children and have them read aloud to you through guided reading to skyrocket their confidence and help them to improve through practice and correction.
A couple of notes to consider...
- If your child just doesn’t seem to be picking up on the lessons such as sounding out words, or matching letters to their sound, you may want to make sure your child does not have a reading disability. If this is the case DON’T be discouraged, 90-95 percent of reading impaired children can overcome their difficulties if they receive help at an early age according to readingrockets.org.
- While we all want the very best for our children and for them to become enthusiastic little bookworms, please keep in mind that each child is unique, and some may learn faster than others. This does not mean there is something wrong with your child, it may simply mean they just aren’t as interested in literacy as much as something else, say, math, science, or art. It will just take a little more time and patience with them.
Recommended resources
Phonics Primer from the Right to Read Foundation
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