How To Teach A Child To Read: 7 Fun and Easy Tips

Learning how to teach a child to read is not a ‘natural’ process that happens all on its own. It is a complex one that requires the proper teaching of various skills and strategies, such as phonics, that is knowing the relationship between letters and sounds. So it is never too early to prepare a child. While learning how to teach a child to read is a big milestone, it is important that the learning process be fun and engaging for the child. It sounds interesting? Read through as…

Learning To Read

Learning how to teach a child to read is one of the most important things. That is because the millennium we live in is one in which literacy skills are the key to success. But, however, choosing the “right” books and the “best” way to teach reading depends on every child. No two individuals will master reading at the same time or pace, and patience and persistence are a must, particularly for kids who struggle with learning.

One of the most common ways to teach reading is via the sounding out method in which kids are encouraged to read aloud, pronouncing each letter or group of letters until they recognize the word b sound.

Here Are 7 Simple Fun and Easy Tips On How To Teach Your Child To Read

Always use songs and nursery rhymes: It is good to build phonemic awareness while teaching your child. this is because children’s songs and nursery rhymes are not just full of fun the rhyme and rhythm help kids to hear the sounds and syllables in words, which helps them learn to read. A good way to build phonemic awareness one of the most important skills in learning to read is to clap rhythmically together and recite songs in unison. This playful and bonding activity is a fantastic way for kids to implicitly develop the literacy skills that will set them up for reading success.

Harness the power of technology to keep your child engaged: Learning to read is always an enjoyable process with help of modern technology such as television, phone, and computer. This is because when you create that habit of reading in your kids, they will always be motivated to improve. Technology has made everything easy. With e-class, your child is good to go.

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Read together with your child on a daily basis and ask questions about the book: A lot of people do not realise just how many skills can be picked up through the simple act of reading to a child. Not only are you showing them how to sound out words, but same time you are also building key comprehension skills, growing their vocabulary, and letting them hear what a fluent reader sounds like. Most of all, regular reading helps your child to develop a love of reading, which is the best way to set them up for better reading.

Practice shared reading: While teaching your child how to read, consider asking them to repeat words or sentences back to you every now and then while you follow along with your finger. There is no need to stop your reading time completely if your child struggles with a particular word. An encouraging reminder of what the word means or how it’s pronounced is plenty!

Another option is to split reading aloud time with your child. For emerging readers, you can read one line and then ask them to read the next. For older children, reading one page and letting them read the next page is beneficial. Doing this will helps your child feel capable and confident, which is important for encouraging them to read well and consistently.

This technique also gets your child more acquainted with the natural flow of reading. While they look at the pictures and listen happily to the story, they will begin to focus on the words they are reading and engage more with the book in front of them.

Strengthen your child’s reading skills with questions: Strengthen your child’s comprehension skills by asking him/her questions during and while reading. From observation younger children, feel more encouraged when engaging with the pictures. For older children, ask questions about what they have just read.

Understand the core skills involved in teaching kids to read: It is important to remember that learning to read involves various different skills. These are the skills all children need in order to successfully learn how to read:

• Phonemic awareness: The ability to hear and manipulate the different sounds in words
• Phonics: Recognising the connection between letters and the sounds they make
• Vocabulary: Understanding the meaning of words, their definitions, and their context
• Reading comprehension: Understand the meaning of the text, both in storybooks and information books
• Fluency: The ability to read aloud with speed, understanding and accuracy

Begin with uppercase letters while teaching your child:

Practising how to make letters is way easier when they all look unique, This is why we teach uppercase letters to kids who are not in formal schooling yet. Think about it “E” and “G” look an awful lot alike! But “E” and “G” are much easier to distinguish. Starting with uppercase letters, then, will help your child to grasp the basics of letter identification and, subsequently, reading. That is to say, using uppercase will help your child learn uppercase letters, we find that engaging their sense of physical touch can be especially useful. If you want to try this, you might consider buying textured paper, like sandpaper, and cutting out the shapes of uppercase letters.

Here, try to ask your child to put their hands behind their back, and then place the letter in their hands. They can use their sense of touch to guess what letter they are holding.

Always use familiar words to teach your kid: Because they are fluent speakers, kids have a base vocabulary, to begin with. That is why learning how to read words they are already familiar with is a good place to start. This might include their own name and other concrete nouns that can be prompted using pictures.

Teach one word at a time: Note in the beginning, using too much text can be overwhelming for your kid. Make sure there are not too many words on a page and start by having them sound out single terms before progressing to phrases and sentences.

Create a perfect interaction and interactive section: It is a good idea to encourage and create an active vs. passive reading pattern, by asking your child about what he/she has read. In the beginning, they will be focused on recognizing words but later on, they will need to get the gist of the text and be able to tell you more about the details too.

Teach sight words: Sight words are any short, common words that a child will always see often. Some examples of common sight words include plant, father, there and here. Many of these words are difficult to sound out. The best way for a child to learn these words is through repeatedly seeing the word in the context of a sentence and alongside the object it represents.

Use cards with sight words on them and help the child put them alongside the objects they represent. Eventually, the child will begin to associate the written word with the object on their own. Use flashcards to teach sight words. Show the child the card and pronounce the word. Spell it out and use it in a sentence. Then go through and have the child say the word, spell the word and use the word in a sentence. Repeat until the child can identify all the cards.

You can also try to point out word families. Word families are groups of words that rhyme. Make sure the child notices words that rhyme, such as cat, pat, and hat. Once, the child sees the words written and hears the similarity of sounds he will begin to identify the sound and how it appears when written.

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Dyslexia and reading ability

Some kids experience difficulty in reading and this may be due to a learning difficulty or difference. One of the most common learning difficulties is dyslexia, a condition in which literacy skills including reading and spelling, are impacted.

While there are many types of dyslexia and the record has it that no two individuals experience the same symptoms, an inability to hear the phonemes in words is often a root cause of the difficulty. As a result, kids may need to overlearn sound-letter mapping and high-frequency vocabulary, and use strategies, such as creating mnemonic devices, to remember the spelling.

However, kids who are struggling with slow processing can have difficulty with the decoding process and withholding all of the details of a text in memory long enough to make meaning. Reducing cognitive load by teaching sight words and providing as much time as a child needs to read a text, can help them develop strong literacy skills.

Children who struggle with ADD and ADHD can greatly benefit from reduced distraction and a quiet environment in which to learn how to read. Keep them focused on the text and allow them to take frequent breaks and move around before coming back to reading activities. Patience and time are essential to keep frustration at bay and ensure kids develop positive associations with reading.

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