Amazing ways to teach kids to read
A famous quote says, “The more you read, the more things you will know” -Reading is a good habit. Of all our children’s intellectual milestones, “how to teach kids to read” is that one thing which parents worry about the most. We all know that our kid is eventually going to talk, learn colors, and learn to write and so on. But, when it comes to reading, parents impose a lot more pressure on them. The way you parent your child can have a deep impact on your child’s behavior.
Child psychologists convey that not all kids are fond of reading hence; to instill this good habit in them parents need to patiently work on it. So how do you know that your child is ready to read?
3 Signs Kids Are Ready To Read / Pre-reading Behaviors
- Awareness of print on signs, labels, packaging, etc. Children can Understand that a signal says”McDonald’s” until they could actually read the letters
- Theories about print – Does the kid understand which way is through to a publication? Can they possess a feeling that the pages turn you at a time and always in exactly the same direction? As you see, point to the words so they are able to view you are reading from left to right.
- Sound discrimination – The child is able to recognize the words starting with the same sound.
When a kid demonstrates these behaviors and skills, they could possibly be prepared to learn. Keep on reading aloud to the child. If children understand that reading can be a fun experience through read-aloud activity, then they’ll be motivated to master themselves.
How To Teach Kids To Read:
Like told earlier not two kids are same hence; it is important for parents to know that some kids do not like to hold books in their hands whereas some are bookworms.
The information you will find here is a positive parenting tip to help you, see how each of the components of reading fit together.
1. Learning Letter Names And Sounds:
You don’t have to teach letters in alphabetical order. Just think about it – if your child happens to start recognizing and reading simple letters like m, a, s, t, they can easily comprehend the words. It is a quick pay off that keeps child’s motivation up.
Help them identify the letters by pinpointing their favorite letters. For instance, when you are visiting a grocery store, you can help them, identify the letter from the grocery brand.
Memorizing the sound associated with the letter can help them learn quickly.
Don’t stick to one learning technique; incorporate plenty of learning motivation techniques to make the learning activity full of fun.
2. Teaching Phonics:
Phonics is the smallest sounds in the English language. The sounds are made up of long vowels, short vowels, digraphs, and consonants.
Phonics make you familiar with the sound of letters and helps you to use it with other words. Additionally, it also shows you how to hum these sounds. Learning phonics is just the beginning which will help your child to decode and spell.
3. Which Word To Teach First:
There is a dilemma that majority of the parents’ go through. ‘Which word to teach first’? ‘How about starting with their name’? There are multiple ways to teach your little one to spell his/her name. However, what majority of the teachers and parents do is that they change the lyrics of their favorite song and include the child’s name in it. You can start with making short jingles, or you can use play dough activity to help them learn letters.
Unless they don’t understand the relationship between the words and the letters from the start the next step is a blur.
4. Introducing Sight Words:
Sight words is a common term in reading that has a variety of meanings. It basically refers to the set of words which appear in every text or para. These include words like ‘were’, ‘who’, ‘the’, ‘me’, ‘were’, ‘be’, etc.
Do not get overwhelmed with the sight words as they are huge in number. You can teach your child a few when he /she starts reading and gradually introduce more.
5. Working With Word Families:
Word families are those who make word rhyme. It is a phonic word awareness activity in which your child learns to comprehend the pattern while reading.
It is a vital skill as it allows the child to read by grouping the set of letters.
Once your child recognizes the word pattern they’ll really enjoy their reading activity with new rhyming vocabulary. Furthermore, learning rhyming words will have an added benefit in the future when there’s complex reading involved.
6. Making Meaning With Reading Comprehensions:
What ‘making meaning’ means? It is just a phrase, which means that when a child begins reading longer texts and sentences, he/she should be able to understand it. Here are some tips to help your child –
- Encourage him/her to re-read if they don’t understand what the author is trying to tell in the story.
- Demonstrate your own expressions to their reading comprehensions.
- Ask questions regarding what they have read and understood.
Simple Tips To Teach Kids How To Read:
In order to teach kids to read and make it a rewarding experience, we are sharing a few significant child motivation tips below
1. Reading Out Loud:
Once your child starts to read, tell him/her to read out loud. Reading out loud helps in building self-confidence in your child. The permissive parenting tips suggest that to make the reading activity more enjoyable. You can take turns while reading with your kid, this will help him/her learn new words.
Expert child psychologists suggest that you begin reading with your child at an early age. This ongoing reading time will be a special bonding time for just two of you, instilling the love for reading.
For kids ranging from 1-3 years, you can start with short stories and songbooks. And for kids between 3- 5 years, you can start with rhyming books, alphabets/ number books. This could help, enhance their interest for reading.
2. Ask Questions:
It is good to have a curious kid. Asking questions or vice-a-versa during your reading time will encourage your child to interact with the book. It is not just about reading a book but reading to know what your child understands. If a child cannot interpret what he/she is reading there is really no point.
Ask simple questions like, “do you see that toy” while pointing at the picture of the toy in the book. Depending on the age group you can modify the technique of asking questions which will help him/her comprehend. This will not only help in developing their interest in vocabulary but also encourage them more towards the reading activity.
3. Be A Role Model For Child:
Even if your kid is fascinated towards reading books from a younger age, his/her interest will drop if they don’t see a reading model at home. It is not that you too have to be an avid reader, but you need to make a conscious effort to let your child see you reading at least for a few hours a day.
Our children learn by the examples we put in front of them. All you have to do is grab a book for a few hours in a day where your kid can watch you read.
4. Incorporate Multiple Domains Of Development:
Hands-on experiences can bring meaningful results especially when it is about instilling a reading habit in a child. Once your kid has shown interest in reading, you can start utilizing the natural setting to make their reading more interesting.
There are multiple ways to include multiple domains of development in regards to early reading skills. For e.g., if your child is learning alphabets, you can sit with your child and have an alphabet craft activity which allows your kid to learn the shape as well as how to pronounce them as a letter. Engrossing your child in a play-learning activity will enhance their gross motoring skills.
5. Discover Fun Ways To Learn:
Children are great at grasping things. They learn quickly when they are taught in a fun way. This way the kids can memorize effectively. Some of these activities that you can play with them are play dough, make letters, basic crafting etc.
Expert parenting skills suggest that you convert their reading time into a fun learning session to which your kid will enjoy his/her reading activity and learn faster.
6. Take Help Of The Apps:
We are living in the age of apps so why not avail the benefit when it comes to teaching your kid to read. Such apps have become an order of the day however, parents should exercise caution in restricting their screen time.
Kids learn faster when their favorite animal or cartoon character teaches them. Learning phonics and alphabets can be easier through these apps as they are specifically designed for kids. Ensure a systematic approach towards reading. This will put your child in a comfortable learning position.
It’s All about a Time for Patience (Closing Thoughts):
In the end, if traditional reading techniques aren’t working out for you, try out something new. You don’t have to go through the process of the set rules. It’s all about raising an individual whose whole life will be influenced by the books. Ultimately, that’s the goal worth waiting for!
