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 Teaching
Children To Read
Many
parents want to teach their children to read. Developing a
love of reading helps children with intellectual, language and
learning, and builds skills that will help the child in every aspect of
his education. There are many ways a parent can help his
child to develop reading readiness.
One way to encourage reading readiness is to help the child recognize
letters of the alphabet and learn to name the sounds that the letters
make. Teaching a child to read involves encouraging reading
readiness. Make learning the letters fun by giving the child
letters to play with, magnetic letters, or letters that float in the
bathtub. Play little games with your child to help him learn
to identify the letters. Sing the alphabet song, leaving out
letters for the child to fill in as you sing together. Play
games rhyming words. When the child is able to identify the
letters and their sounds, start helping your child to sound out short
words phonetically. Teaching reading involves many steps.
Be patient. A child who feels pushed or parents who are tense
will make the child less likely to want to try. Always follow
the child's lead when the child is learning. A child who is
having fun will be receptive to learning new skills. Wait for
the child's natural curiosity. Be encouraging, not
demanding. If the child gets tired, or is not in the mood,
move on to something else. Teaching a child to read should not involve
frustration or anger. Those emotions can block learning.
When a child is learning to sound out a word, it takes a lot of time,
and many tries to get from letter sounds into blends that make a
word. Always be lighthearted and patient with the child who
is trying this.
Also, remember that in English, there are many exceptions to phonetic
rules, and unexpected sounds sometimes come from letters. For
example, the letters "ph" do not logically make the "f" sound; it is
learned through practice and repetition. When teaching a
child to read, include "sight words" only after phonetics are
mastered.
Read to your child often, and from the youngest age possible.
Reading to your child helps him to learn language patterns and
inflections identify words with pictures, and encourages a love of
reading that will last a lifetime. Model a love of reading by
reading to your child every day. Teach reading with this love in
mind.
Children learn to read at different ages, so don't be discouraged if
your child seems to be learning later than his peers. All
children learn to read when they are ready, so by building a patient,
fun foundation, providing the tools, and being encouraging, everything
will be ready for the child's natural curiosity to take over.
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