Learning to read from an early age is important for a child’s development. This helps children better understand their surroundings, allows them to gather information from printed materials, and provides them with a great source of entertainment when reading stories and nursery rhymes. Children develop at different rates and some will develop reading skills faster than others; However, it is important that as a parent you are fully aware of your child’s maturity level and reading level in order to provide them with appropriate books and activities to help them progress.
As a parent, you are your child’s most important teacher. You will introduce your child to books and reading. Below we offer some tips to help you teach your child to read.
Teach your child to read
Teach your child the letters and sounds of the alphabet at the same time. Studies have shown that children learn best when they are taught the names and sounds of letters at the same time. In one study, 58 preschoolers were randomly assigned to receive instruction on letter names and sounds, letter sounds only, or numbers (control group). The results of this study are consistent with the results of previous research in that they found that children who received instruction on letter names and sounds were more likely to learn the sounds of letters whose names included Clues to their sounds. [first]
When teaching your child to sound out letters, have them slowly trace the letter, while saying the sound of the letter. For example, if you were teaching your child the letter “A”, you would say:
“The letter A is pronounced /A/ (ah).”
Then ask your child to say the sound /A/ while tracing the letter with his index finger.
Teaching children how to read
When teaching your child to read, always emphasize to your child that the proper reading order is from left to right and top to bottom. To adults, this seems so basic that everyone should know. However, our children are born without the knowledge that printed text should be read from left to right and top to bottom, and this is why you will sometimes see children reading from right to left. – because we have never explicitly taught them to read. from left to right. When teaching your child to read, always emphasize this point to your child.
Teach your child how to read
Teach final consonant blending first. Teaching words like “to” and “and” can lead your child directly to learning words that rhyme with them. For example, for “to” you could have:
latitude
Clap
Carpet
Cat
Sat
Bat
Arguments
Cat
For “and,” you can have these rhyming words:
Sand
Band
Landing
Hand
Stay
Tender
Trademark
monumental
And such…
You can start teaching blending words once your child has learned the sounds of some consonants and short vowels. You don’t need to wait until your child has mastered the sounds of all the letters before teaching combinations.
Learning to read is a long process but it doesn’t have to be a difficult one. Divided into logical, intuitive steps, a child as young as two can learn to read, and older children can do much more.