Tips on How to Teach Your Child To Read
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.