Teaching a Child to Read
It can be difficult for a child to start reading but the sooner you start teaching the better. The best teacher a child can have in their early years is a parent who reads to them often, encourages their child to read and is supportive and positive.
They don’t have to read only school textbooks or other educational resources. Kids can read anything from classic children’s books to the back of a cereal packet, as long as they are reading something. Here are some tips for teaching your child to read well before they start in school.
How children learn to read
The alphabet is actually meaningless and abstract as just letters. It is creating a link between these letters to create sounds that turn them into words. These sounds, known as phonemes, eventually blend together and their meaning is then realised.
Children need to work out the relationship between sounds and letters, and the sooner they do this, the sooner they will become competent readers. How we help children make this connection is the key to actually teaching them to read.
Start young
It is never too early to start teaching your child to read. And it certainly doesn’t have to be structured teaching. Babies and toddlers actually find the sound of a parents’ voice soothing, but as they get older they become interested in the story.
It is important to let young children explore the book – this includes touching it, pointing to pictures and holding it themselves. Just make sure any books you read are age appropriate.
Read often
You can never read to your child too much. Not only do they find the stories entertaining but reading can also become part of a bedtime routine to help them settle. Repetition is also a crucial factor as reading familiar text will help children figure out sounds and associate them with particular words.
Start off simple
There is no point reading a book aimed at teenagers to a five-year-old. Reading text that is age appropriate will have the greatest benefit. Books will often have labels to identify the reading age which makes it much easier for parents to decide which is more appropriate.
Once you are sure they have mastered a particular level, move on to something a little more challenging. Don’t make it too hard, however, as this can cause the child to lose confidence.
Be encouraging and positive
Children respond to praise far better than criticism. So pick you words carefully when commenting on their reading to ensure your message is positive rather than negative. Encourage your child to have a go at saying difficult words if they are struggling with them. Get them to sound out parts of the word to help them work it out and offer advice and clues that may point them in the right direction.
Pictures speak a thousand words
Illustrations are one of the greatest tools when it comes to teaching a child to read. Putting a picture of a cat next the word “cat” is going to trigger understanding and recognition. There are many quality children’s books that are renowned as much for the illustrations as the words.
Just remember that a book full of words is going to get quite boring for a novice reader, whereas a book with words and illustrations will be far more beneficial.
