Posts Tagged "how to teach a child to read"

There is a lot of debate which method is better: sight reading or phonics. Another question that many parents have is whether to teach letter sounds or letter names, or both at the same time.

I have to say I tried both sight and phonics, and I found that phonics is soo much easier. However, when I started teaching my son letters, I only taught him letter sounds – I did not want to confuse him by teaching him both, and I thought that just knowing the sounds will make it easier for him to start reading on his own. Turns out I could have taught him both at the same time.

The following article discusses some viewpoints on how to teach children to read. There is no point to reinvent the wheel – the best way is to learn from teachers’ and other parents’ experiences.

Teach your child to read: teaching letter sounds versus names

Teaching Letter Names and Sounds

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com.

So, you want to teach your child to read, but before a child can learn to read, he or she must first learn at least some of the letters in the alphabet, their names, and the sounds that they represent. To be able to read, a child must be able to recognize the letters, know the sound of the letters, and be able to recognize the letters quickly and say the sound without hesitation. There is plenty of discussion and disagreement on whether it’s better to teach children using whole language programs or using methods which incorporate phonics and phonemic awareness instructions. I think the debate on this is settled when the National Reading Panel stated from their findings of reviewing over 1,900 studies that phonics and phonemic awareness produces superior reading results than whole language programs.

There is also some debate on whether to teach your child only letter names, or only the sounds which the letters represent. However, studies have also settled this debate by finding that teaching a child alphabet names and sounds together produces the best results. In fact, studies have found that there is little value in teaching preschoolers letter forms or letter sounds separately. This was indicated by an Australian study involving 76 preschool children.

The children received 6 weeks of training in either letter awareness, phonemic awareness, or control tasks, and then received another 6 weeks of training in either letter-sound correspondence or control tasks. The study found that training in either phoneme or letter awareness assisted with learning of letter-sound correspondences, and that the phonemically trained children group had an advantage on recognition tasks. The study found that there is little value in training in letter form or letter sounds separately. [1]

As you can see, there is basically no point in only teaching either the names of the alphabet letters, or the sounds the letters make. A child must learn the name and the sound of the alphabet letter. When teaching your child the alphabet, instead of simply teaching them the name of the alphabet such as “this is the letter A”, teach them like so:

“This is the letter A, and the letter A makes the /A/ sound.” (note: the /A/ denote the sound “A” makes, and not its name). Similarly, you can teach your child the other alphabet letters in this way including both name and sound of the letter. This is the way I teach my children the alphabet letters. Other studies have also determined that teaching the letter names and sounds together helped children learn.

58 preschool children were randomly assigned to receive instructions in letter names and sounds, letter sound only, or numbers (control group). The results of this study are consistent with past research results in that it found children receiving letter name and sound instruction were most likely to learn the sounds of letters whose names included cues to their sounds. [2]

To be able to effectively teach your children the sounds of letters, you must first master the proper pronunciation of the letters yourself. It is critical for you as a parent to be able to first say the sounds of the letters correctly before teaching your children, and this is much tougher than it may seem.

>> Click here to learn more about a simple program that will show you step-by-step how to effectively teach your child to read.

Notes:

1. J Exp Child Psychol. 2009 Sep;104(1):68-88. Epub 2009 Mar 5.
The genesis of reading ability: what helps children learn letter-sound correspondences?
Castles A, Coltheart M, Wilson K, Valpied J, Wedgwood J.
Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.

2. J Exp Child Psychol. 2010 Apr;105(4):324-44. Epub 2010 Jan 25.
Learning letter names and sounds: effects of instruction, letter type, and phonological processing skill.
Piasta SB, Wagner RK.
Preschool Language and Literacy Lab, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

Why not add to the conversation about teaching your child to read. Type your comments in the comment area below. Thanks!

I know a lot of parents who are teaching their child the alphabet and letter names, in the hopes that learning the alphabet will make learning to read easy.

These parents are often not aware how teaching a child how to sound out words is different than teaching how to spell a word, and that the first method will produce faster and easier results for the child.

Here is a good video on how to sound out words when teaching a child to read:

Teaching Reading: Phonics Lessons – Sounding Out Words

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

Why not add to the conversation about teaching your child to read. Type your comments in the comment area below. Thanks!

These days many parents are taking a greater interest and more active role in their kid’s education. You will seldom encounter a pregnant woman who is not already thinking about what activities to sign up for, what music to play, and what books to read to her yet unborn child.

Once the baby finally arrives, many moms begins to engage her new babies in all manner of ways to ensure that his or her motor skills, problem solving skills and cognitive function are fully developed.

Obviously, reading is also high on these parents’ list. They are taking the job of teaching their child to read out of the hands of the school system and are undertaking this greatest of tasks themselves.

Whether you are home schooling your child, or simply an enthusiastic pro-active parent who wants to give their child a head start, here are some tips for teaching your child to read early.

Here are some tips from an article by Rachel Cicurel that was published on Ophrah.com (you can find it here.

Begin the Process Early

In her 24 years of experience, Nancy Singer—a kindergarten teacher at Harlan Elementary School in Birmingham, Michigan—has found that it’s never too early to help kids grasp the concept of reading.

“Even for kids who are 2 or 3 years old, reading aloud can help them understand that the funny little marks on paper have meaning,” Nancy says. “[This] is why we encourage people to read to their kids when they are very, very young.”

Nancy, who has a master’s degree in reading, also suggests teaching children by making letters out of Play-Doh, writing in the sand, drawing on the carpet and using pipe cleaners to create words.

With kids who are 3 or 4 years old, Nancy says, half the battle is getting them over that initial fear of reading on their own, even if that means they’re just pretending to read by reciting a story from memory. In their moments of frustration, you should remind them that everyone can read the pictures and take the time to sit with them as you decipher stories page by page.

Teach your child to read: Read for meaning and have fun

Read for Meaning

Lenny Sanchez, a professor of reading methods at Indiana University’s School of Education in Bloomington, Indiana, warns that reading is not only about decoding, or deciphering the letters into fluid sounds to make words. “There’s a misconception that children learn to read and then read to learn,” Lenny says. “Reading, for me, is always about making meaning.”

A good reader also reads fluently, and to help children develop that skill, it often means refraining from jumping in when they skip a word or miss a sound. Lenny says actions like this will break children’s flow and take the focus off understanding the reading and place it onto decoding, a skill they will grasp over time.

Lenny also believes it’s important to ask children detailed questions while they read to help develop their comprehension abilities. Reading, he says, always involves a purpose, and pinpointing that is often as simple as asking a child what he hopes to find out. By setting up the purpose ahead of time, the child is looking for the deeper meaning of the text throughout the entire story.

Choose the Best Possible Text

As children become more comfortable with the reading process, Lenny says to be very cautious with your text selections. Ultimately, you must balance the desire to push your children toward success without setting up unrealistic expectations.

Set a Good Example

Inevitably, children are watching (and following) your every move, which makes it even more important to set an example that reading can be an enjoyable part of your daily routine. Meg Carroll, a professor at Saint Xavier University in Chicago with a doctorate in curriculum and instruction, strongly believes that if you don’t make reading a part of your own life, you will have much more difficulty emphasizing the importance of reading in a child’s life.

“Kids learn that they are forced to read by adults, but once the kid becomes an adult, they choose not to read,” Meg says. “They think you never do it again, so they assume it must be bad, and that is not the message we want to send our kids.”

In her own home, Meg read aloud to her kids until they entered high school. In her classroom, she continues to ask her students what has happened in a story and then helps them look back to find the answers in an effort to constantly model the behavior of a good reader.

Enjoy the Outcome

Ultimately, every second you spend reading with your child will make a difference. Not only will you be reinforcing good habits and comprehension skills to help them succeed, but also making amazing memories along the way.

“Reading is my favorite thing to teach,” Nancy says. “It’s so cool to watch the light bulb go off and realize they get it. And the best part is that they, too, are so excited.”

Read the entire article here.