Teaching a child to read is not an easy task. Parents and teachers often struggle with this because they sometimes don’t know which methods or skills are best in carrying this out. In this article, we will go through necessary tools and activities to teach a child to read.
- Teach them sounds or Phonetics
While teaching a child the alphabet is necessary, it is also important to teach sounds. For instance, ‘ah’, ‘buh’, ‘cuh’, instead of just a, b, c. This is called Phonemic Awareness, that is, understanding sounds in spoken words.
This can be done with the aid of flash cards with letters printed or written boldly on them. They can be store bought or done at home. Put them on a string so that they don’t get missing. Practice with the child once or twice a day, one minute at a time. Overtime, the child will make progress in producing sounds when they see specific letters.
- Blend the sounds
This is done by taking three or four of the sounds they are familiar with and blending them together to make whole words. Before you start this, make the child understand that combination of sounds make words. Separate the sounds, i.e. ‘duh’, ‘oh’, ‘guh’ and the child responds with ‘dog’. This way, they will know to pronounce the sounds of individual letters and then blend them together. You can also make games like, ‘Get the ‘cuh’, ‘ar’, and he/she gets the car.
Another method is, making a chart with the vowels written boldly on top. Then write a list of ways that vowels can mix with a consonant. For example, ‘a’ can be merged to make ‘ba’, ‘ca’, ‘da’, etc. Do this for e, i, o, and u.
- Introduce word families
This is putting three or four letter words in groups, preferably by vowels, so that they can identify them by those groups. Make cards that have the words on them and the picture of that word at the back. So when they pronounce the word correctly, they are shown a picture of the word as a reward. Also when the child reads ‘bat’, it would be easier to read ‘cat’, ‘hat’ or ‘fat’.
Extra Tip:
Purchase a Primer: A primer is a textbook that teaches reading and the basic elements of the English language. It contains sets of two, three or four letter words stringed in several phrases or sentences. This book will help the child to recognize words in sentences and begin to learn words in particular contexts. These can be store bought or purchased on online platforms like Amazon or eBay.
Secret Tip:
If you ever consider opening a daycare business or childcare business, consider using childcare software to help manage the whole process. Use this tool and enjoy the benefits of sleek management all in one place.
This can be done with the aid of flash cards with letters printed or written boldly on them. They can be store bought or done at home. Put them on a string so that they don’t get missing. Practice with the child once or twice a day, one minute at a time. Overtime, the child will make progress in producing sounds when they see specific letters. Pay attention also to the reading comprehension worksheets for kindergarten, they will help your child improve their reading skills and comprehension.
Conclusion
With these tips, it will be much easier to get your kids to read. Ensure that you practice with the child daily so that there is no break between their learning, as consistency is key with children. Teaching your child to read can help them love reading. This is the best way to set them up for reading success.
