Reading is a
skill that is considered essential for learning. This is why parents want to
help develop their children’s reading skills as early as possible. It is
important to note, though, that, like any other skill, developing reading
skills takes time, and not all children are the same. The pace at which a child
learns to read also depends on his or her readiness.
You can make
the process easier — and maybe even more fun — by putting these tips into
practice:
1. Read
aloud to your child.
Most experts
would agree that the single most important thing that parents can do to help
their children learn how to read is to read books aloud to them.
The
seemingly ‘simple’ act of reading aloud to children every day benefits them in
so many ways — including helping them learn basic pre-reading and reading
skills. These include direction (print goes from left to right), rhyming,
concepts of print or how to handle books, and letter identification.
Jim
Trelease, author of The New York Times bestseller The Read-Aloud Handbook,
explains it perfectly:
“We read
aloud to children for the same reasons we talk with them: to reassure;
entertain; bond; inform; arouse curiosity; and inspire. But reading aloud goes
further than conversation when it:
• Conditions the child to associate reading
with pleasure;
• Creates background knowledge
• Builds “book” vocabulary;
• Provides a reading role model.”
So if you
want your child to learn to read and love reading, read aloud to them every day
— even if it’s just for 15 minutes.
2. Provide
easy access to books.
Make books
available and accessible everywhere. The more they are exposed to books, the
more they will get interested in reading.
One way parents
can do this is to dedicate a space or corner in their homes as their children’s
“book corner” or “library.” If you can, provide bookshelves that your child can
reach, and fill them with age-appropriate children’s books. Even children as
young as 2 years old will love “reading” their favorite books in their own
“library.”
3. Choose
books appropriate for your child’s reading level.
Select books
that suit your child’s reading level. Younger kids need books with lots of
pictures and very short text. This is
because young children have shorter attention spans. Picture books and books
with single word text are the type of titles your toddler will enjoy.
For
preschoolers, you can start with books that have pictures in the sentences,
books with rhymes like the Dr. Seuss Classics Hop on Pop and The Cat In the
Hat, and alphabet books.
4. Make
learning to read fun.
Phonemic
awareness or the knowledge that letters make sounds that make up words is one
of the basic skills needed in reading. Play alphabet recognition and letter sound games.
Examples of
such games are Alphabet Bingo, I Spy Things That Begin with the Letter ___, and
Rhyming Games.
You can also
teach your child nursery rhymes, short poems, songs, and play word games like
“Can you think of a word that sounds like bat?”
5. Make
books “come alive.”
Relate books
with life. This fosters comprehension, which is the other essential component
of reading.
For example,
if you are planning a visit to the zoo or any other place, you can read books
about animals or related topics to your child.
6.
Incorporate play into your child’s learning-to-read routine.
Use toys to
help introduce and reinforce reading concepts. Alphabet toys, spelling toys,
and writing toys are the types of toys you can consider investing in.
7. Teach your child to “find” letters
everywhere.
Point out
letters that your child sees on labels, boxes, magazines, signs, newspapers,
books — basically anything that has words and letters on it.
Sound out
the letter instead of saying the “letter name.”
For fun videos that teach letter sounds, you can check out this ABC
Phonics Song (Sing, Spell, Read, Write) on YouTube.
8. Read.
One of the
things that most parents may not consider “helpful” when teaching their kids to
read is to actually be a “reader” themselves. The thing is, if we want to help
our children learn how to read, we should show them that we read on a regular
basis, too.
A child’s
desire to read will indirectly help him learn to read, because we all know that
learning to do something usually stems from a desire to be able to do it.
By: Tina
Santiago-Rodriguez
Photo
Credit: Google Images
