Teach a child to read with children's books

Teach a Child to Read with Children's Books • HomeSchool ThinkTank

Mary Gallagher is the co-author of Teach a Child to Read with Children’s Books.

Her book will guide you as you help your child learn to read using books that you can check out at your local library.

If your library doesn’t have the recommended books, then look online or check your local bookstore.

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When you listen to our interview with Mary Gallagher, you’ll gain a greater understanding of how children learn to read.

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From the Desk of Mary Gallagher

I am a reading specialist and literacy coach, homeschooling and school choice advocate, and author of Teach a Child to Read with Children’s Books.
My specialty is helping children fall in love with reading so they will persevere through the practice to become an independent reader.

I believe that all children can learn to read, that reading shouldn’t be boring or cause tears, and that parents don’t have to purchase expensive reading programs to raise an independent reader.
In my career, I’ve taught all levels of children to read. I’ve also coached and trained teachers as well as parents on teaching reading. I help parents move from confusion, anxiety, and frustration over reading to joy, excitement, and confidence about teaching reading using real books and the resources they have at home so they can raise confident, lifelong readers.
My expertise is providing parents with the necessary skills, strategies, and knowledge they need to support literacy in the home and help their children not only learn how to read but learn to love reading for a lifetime.
Mary Gallagher. Co-author of Teach a Child to Read with Children’s Books.

Teach a Child to Read with Children’s Books

Mark B. Thogmartin, Ph. D. & Mary Gallagher, M.S. Ed.

Fourth Edition

At the time of this update, the only place that you can purchase the 4th edition of this book is at Rainbow Resources. You might also be able to find used editions in the other links listed.

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Interview with Mary Gallagher

Co-Author of Teach a Child to Read with Children’s Books

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Teach a Child to Read Freebies

Mary is graciously giving away Chapter 5: Using Real Books In Your Program from Teach Your Child To Read With Children’s Books.

Chapter 5 of Teach a Child to Read!

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Teaching children to read isn’t easy. How do kids actually learn to read?

A student in a Mississippi elementary school reads a book in class. Research shows young children need explicit, systematic phonics instruction to learn how to read fluently.

Credit: Terrell Clark for The Hechinger Report

Teaching kids to read isn’t easy; educators often feel strongly about what they think is the “right” way to teach this essential skill. Though teachers’ approaches may differ, the research is pretty clear on how best to help kids learn to read. Here’s what parents should look for in their children’s classroom.

How do kids actually learn how to read?

Research shows kids learn to read when they are able to identify letters or combinations of letters and connect those letters to sounds. There’s more to it, of course, like attaching meaning to words and phrases, but phonemic awareness (understanding sounds in spoken words) and an understanding of phonics (knowing that letters in print correspond to sounds) are the most basic first steps to becoming a reader.

If children can’t master phonics, they are more likely to struggle to read. That’s why researchers say explicit, systematic instruction in phonics is important: Teachers must lead students step by step through a specific sequence of letters and sounds. Kids who learn how to decode words can then apply that skill to more challenging words and ultimately read with fluency. Some kids may not need much help with phonics, especially as they get older, but experts say phonics instruction can be essential for young children and struggling readers “We don’t know how much phonics each kid needs,” said Anders Rasmussen, principal of Wood Road Elementary School in Ballston Spa, New York, who recently led the transformation of his schools’ reading program to a research-based, structured approach. “But we know no kid is hurt by getting too much of it.”

How should your child’s school teach reading?

Timothy Shanahan, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and an expert on reading instruction, said phonics are important in kindergarten through second grade and phonemic awareness should be explicitly taught in kindergarten and first grade. This view has been underscored by experts in recent years as the debate over reading instruction has intensified. But teaching kids how to read should include more than phonics, said Shanahan. They should also be exposed to oral reading, reading comprehension and writing.

The wars over how to teach reading are back. Here’s the four things you need to know.

Wiley Blevins, an author and expert on phonics, said a good test parents can use to determine whether a child is receiving research-based reading instruction is to ask their child’s teacher how reading is taught. “They should be able to tell you something more than ‘by reading lots of books’ and ‘developing a love of reading.’ ” Blevins said. Along with time dedicated to teaching phonics, Blevins said children should participate in read-alouds with their teacher to build vocabulary and content knowledge. “These read-alouds must involve interactive conversations to engage students in thinking about the content and using the vocabulary,” he said. “Too often, when time is limited, the daily read-alouds are the first thing left out of the reading time. We undervalue its impact on reading growth and must change that.”

Rasmussen’s school uses a structured approach: Children receive lessons in phonemic awareness, phonics, pre-writing and writing, vocabulary and repeated readings. Research shows this type of “systematic and intensive” approach in several aspects of literacy can turn children who struggle to read into average or above-average readers.

What should schools avoid when teaching reading?

Educators and experts say kids should be encouraged to sound out words, instead of guessing. “We really want to make sure that no kid is guessing,” Rasmussen said. “You really want … your own kid sounding out words and blending words from the earliest level on.” That means children are not told to guess an unfamiliar word by looking at a picture in the book, for example. As children encounter more challenging texts in later grades, avoiding reliance on visual cues also supports fluent reading. “When they get to ninth grade and they have to read “Of Mice and Men,” there are no picture cues,” Rasmussen said.

Related: Teacher Voice: We need phonics, along with other supports, for reading

Blevins and Shanahan caution against organizing books by different reading levels and keeping students at one level until they read with enough fluency to move up to the next level. Although many people may think keeping students at one level will help prevent them from getting frustrated and discouraged by difficult texts, research shows that students actually learn more when they are challenged by reading materials.

Blevins said reliance on “leveled books” can contribute to “a bad habit in readers.” Because students can’t sound out many of the words, they rely on memorizing repeated words and sentence patterns, or on using picture clues to guess words. Rasmussen said making kids stick with one reading level — and, especially, consistently giving some kids texts that are below grade level, rather than giving them supports to bring them to grade level — can also lead to larger gaps in reading ability.

How do I know if a reading curriculum is effective?

Some reading curricula cover more aspects of literacy than others. While almost all programs have some research-based components, the structure of a program can make a big difference, said Rasmussen. Watching children read is the best way to tell if they are receiving proper instruction — explicit, systematic instruction in phonics to establish a foundation for reading, coupled with the use of grade-level texts, offered to all kids.

Parents who are curious about what’s included in the curriculum in their child’s classroom can find sources online, like a chart included in an article by Readingrockets.org which summarizes the various aspects of literacy, including phonics, writing and comprehension strategies, in some of the most popular reading curricula.

Blevins also suggested some questions parents can ask their child’s teacher:

What is your phonics scope and sequence?

“If research-based, the curriculum must have a clearly defined phonics scope and sequence that serves as the spine of the instruction. ” Blevins said.

Do you have decodable readers (short books with words composed of the letters and sounds students are learning) to practice phonics?

“If no decodable or phonics readers are used, students are unlikely to get the amount of practice and application to get to mastery so they can then transfer these skills to all reading and writing experiences,” Blevins said. “If teachers say they are using leveled books, ask how many words can students sound out based on the phonics skills (teachers) have taught … Can these words be fully sounded out based on the phonics skills you taught or are children only using pieces of the word? They should be fully sounding out the words — not using just the first or first and last letters and guessing at the rest.”

What are you doing to build students’ vocabulary and background knowledge? How frequent is this instruction? How much time is spent each day doing this?

“It should be a lot,” Blevins said, “and much of it happens during read-alouds, especially informational texts, and science and social studies lessons. ”

Is the research used to support your reading curriculum just about the actual materials, or does it draw from a larger body of research on how children learn to read? How does it connect to the science of reading?

Teachers should be able to answer these questions, said Blevins.

What should I do if my child isn’t progressing in reading?

When a child isn’t progressing, Blevins said, the key is to find out why. “Is it a learning challenge or is your child a curriculum casualty? This is a tough one.” Blevins suggested that parents of kindergarteners and first graders ask their child’s school to test the child’s phonemic awareness, phonics and fluency.

Parents of older children should ask for a test of vocabulary. “These tests will locate some underlying issues as to why your child is struggling reading and understanding what they read,” Blevins said. “Once underlying issues are found, they can be systematically addressed. ”

“We don’t know how much phonics each kid needs. But we know no kid is hurt by getting too much of it.”
Anders Rasmussen, principal of Wood Road Elementary School in Ballston Spa, New York

Rasmussen recommended parents work with their school if they are concerned about their children’s progress. By sitting and reading with their children, parents can see the kind of literacy instruction the kids are receiving. If children are trying to guess based on pictures, parents can talk to teachers about increasing phonics instruction.

“Teachers aren’t there doing necessarily bad things or disadvantaging kids purposefully or willfully,” Rasmussen said. “You have many great reading teachers using some effective strategies and some ineffective strategies.”

What can parents do at home to help their children learn to read?

Parents want to help their kids learn how to read but don’t want to push them to the point where they hate reading. “Parents at home can fall into the trap of thinking this is about drilling their kid,” said Cindy Jiban, a former educator and current principal academic lead at NWEA, a research-based non-profit focused on assessments and professional learning opportunities. “This is unfortunate,” Jiban said. “It sets up a parent-child interaction that makes it, ‘Ugh, there’s this thing that’s not fun.’” Instead, Jiban advises making decoding playful. Here are some ideas:

Challenge kids to find everything in the house that starts with a specific sound.
Stretch out one word in a sentence. Ask your child to “pass the salt” but say the individual sounds in the word “salt” instead of the word itself.
Ask your child to figure out what every family member’s name would be if it started with a “b” sound.
Sing that annoying “Banana fana fo fanna song.” Jiban said that kind of playful activity can actually help a kid think about the sounds that correspond with letters even if they’re not looking at a letter right in front of them.
Read your child’s favorite book over and over again. For books that children know well, Jiban suggests that children use their finger to follow along as each word is read. Parents can do the same, or come up with another strategy to help kids follow which words they’re reading on a page.

Giving a child diverse experiences that seem to have nothing to do with reading can also help a child’s reading ability. By having a variety of experiences, Rasmussen said, children will be able to apply their own knowledge to better comprehend texts about various topics.

This story about teaching children to read was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s newsletter.

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How to teach a child to read: 5 questions for a speech therapist

Reading is a useful thing. This is one of those skills that not only give a long-term effect, but literally determine the life of each of us. An important question: how much and how will the child read? It depends on the answer to him whether he will grow up erudite or with a limited outlook.

Today, a first grader is expected to be able to read at least syllable by syllable, and preferably faster. Many parents try to make life easier for the child and start pushing him so that he “pays off” as soon as possible. In this case, the little person develops a feeling of anxiety: his parents are clearly expecting something from him, but he is not ready to move forward at such a pace. And the pleasure of reading gradually dries up. Doubts and uncertainty come.

It is important not only to teach a child to read, but also to do it correctly. Of course, parents will need both knowledge, and patience, and consistency, and faith in their child. But having given a little time at the start, very soon you will not only teach your baby to read fluently enough, but also develop his interest, give him the joy of communicating with the book. And this, you see, is a long-term investment with impressive dividends!

Learning to read is no easy task. We asked five topical questions about children's reading to Tatyana Gaverdovskaya, speech therapist, editor of children's books at the AST publishing house.

At what age is it better to start classes with a child and how to approach the process itself?

- Children are ready to read not earlier than 4-5 years. Look at the child and don't force things. It is better to wait a few more months than to spoil the beginning of an amazing journey into the world of books.

Do not forget that reading is a complex skill that requires a sufficiently high level of development of all cognitive processes (attention, memory, thinking, imagination). The brain must mature for such serious work. It will be more useful for the baby to jump and run than to cram letters.

It is important to learn through the game, often take breaks, physical education. Drawing, sculpting, designing ... - any activity is useful that will switch the child's attention and help to better remember the shape of the letters, associate it with the sound of speech.

What are the main mistakes parents make when teaching children to read?

“Hurry or delay are equally ineffective. Learning to read too early can lead to automatic reproduction of the text without comprehending what has been read.

If the process is delayed, then at school the child will encounter difficulties, and may even begin to develop complexes. After all, modern elementary school programs are designed, in fact, for reading children. Ideally, if reading skills are developed gradually. Two years before school, it is quite possible to teach decent enough to read.

Often parents teach preschoolers to name letters as in the alphabet (“EM”, “ShA”). As a result, the child cannot combine two letters into a syllable for a long time. After all, "EM, A, EM, A" is very difficult at first to turn into "MAMA".

Let me also remind you of the golden rule of any parent: never compare a child with others - only with himself, praise even small achievements more often.

Books and gadgets. How to reorient a child from cartoons and interactive games to reading? Is it real?

— Gadgets have long been a part of our lives. You can, of course, completely ban them. But is this the way out? However, interaction with them must be dosed. They really cause a strong psychological addiction, form clip thinking, impair vision and memory. The real challenge is to combine the screen and the book. Preschoolers can spend no more than 10-30 minutes a day on gadgets. Set rules for using your tablet and computer and stick to them strictly. But the main thing is your example. Set a time for yourself when you are offline. Children need to see that life outside of gadgets is normal. Discuss and read books at this time, tell your child interesting facts, take a walk and even just lie on the couch in an embrace - there is a large choice. A gadget is just a tool. It depends on us whether it will bring benefit or harm.

What is the most important thing when teaching a child to read?

- The worst thing is when a child is bored, and he sits behind a book just for the sake of his mother. Try to keep interest in classes by all means. It is not simple! But otherwise fix the negative to the book and reading, which will be very difficult to overcome. Do not force the child to cover everything planned at once - be guided by the situation. Read in turn, let the baby listen to your expressive, emotional, richly intoned reading, try to repeat. Try to find a topic that inspires him to read. Now there is a very large selection of children's literature. Maybe your son is more interested in reading about tanks than Little Red Riding Hood. And my daughter loves unicorns. Don't torture yourself with reading, but play. It has been repeatedly proven that the game is the leading activity of children, through which their abilities are revealed.

How to be a first-grader who never learned to read, or noticeably lags behind his peers in reading speed?

- First of all, don't panic. Reading is developed, like any skill, it is a matter of training. It may be worth talking to the teacher and enlisting his support. Then the child will feel more comfortable both at school and at home. Determine at what stage the child is “stuck”: on syllables, reading in whole words, or simply not reading fast enough. Depending on this, choose exercises and exercise regularly. It is important to choose books that are best suited for this stage of skill development and practice reading regularly. But if nothing helps, and "strange" errors in writing, which the teacher calls "mistakes from inattention", may be added to reading errors, then it is better to consult a speech therapist or neuropsychologist to rule out, for example, dyslexia and dysgraphia. The fact is that reading and writing is the next step after mastering oral speech. It is believed that you can start teaching a child to read after he clearly pronounces and distinguishes all the sounds of his native language. If something went wrong, and oral speech is not sufficiently developed, then the help of a specialist will be required.

Recently, the AST publishing house published an excellent educational series for children, My First Reading. Books in it are divided into three levels: for syllabic reading, reading in whole words, and semantic reading with elements of speed reading. The basis is classic fairy tales and stories of famous authors K.I. Chukovsky, S.V. Mikhalkov, V.Yu. Dragunsky and many others.

At the first stage, all texts are divided into syllables with stress and printed in large type. At the second stage, the child learns to read in whole words, large print is preserved, stress too. On the third one, an enlarged font remains, and the texts become more complicated. All books are supplemented with special exercises to improve reading technique, questions to test reading comprehension, as well as finger gymnastics.

If you start regularly studying these books with your child from the age of 4-5, then by school he will read consciously, quickly and confidently, and will also get acquainted with the works that are included in the golden fund of children's literature. Choose and read!

How to teach a child to read and love books

The art of learning

How to teach your child to read and love books

September 6, 2018 9 289 views

Liana Khaziakhmetova

Children's Reading Marathon was held in the social networks MIF.Childhood and MIF.Comics. Using the hashtag #mythreading_books, we published selections of books that are suitable for the first independent reading, and under the hashtag #mythreading_advice — life hacks and tips from our experts. The marathon covered all the main stages in the development of this skill - from the first acquaintance with a book to independent reading with pleasure. We collected in this material all the most interesting things that happened at the Marathon.

On a special page, we made a selection of books for children and their parents, which will help them learn to read, understand and love books. Here you will find publications suitable for reading aloud to kids, for self-acquaintance with books, with beautiful pictures, artistic ones - in general, for every taste!

As part of the Marathon, we had a live with a child psychologist and Gestalt therapist Irina Karneeva. We discussed all the pressing issues: how and at what age to read books to children? How to pick them up? How, when and where to start teaching a child: reading by syllables, reading together with words and sentences? And much more.

Irina advises choosing books that are not only interesting in content, but also beautiful - high-quality publications with illustrations. Also, do not limit yourself to fiction. The child may react negatively to the request to read, but at the same time he will be happy to pick up an activity book, such as "Detective Pierre unravels the case."

Non-fiction publications can become a bridge to reading. The child will understand that books are fun, he will be drawn into the process and it will be easier to take on literature that has more text than illustrations.

How to spark interest in reading

Children's reading expert and mother of four Maria Bogdanova gives advice on how to spark interest in reading. Mary's word.

My oldest readers are 10 and 13 years old. Read daily and a lot. Our library contains more than 520 books of children's literature, and each book was read by the eldest daughter at least once. ⠀

“HAAAAK do you succeed?” - Moms of classmates constantly ask.

There are a number of measures and life hacks. I'll tell you a little and show on the example of comics from the MIF publishing house. ⠀

Reading is a skill, it is a habit. Like any habit, it takes time to develop. That is why, if your child does not really like to read, I suggest starting to awaken interest in books through comics.

Comics are modern.⠀

Comics are fashionable. ⠀

Comics are bright and interesting.

Hildafolk comics

95% of children will be happy to pick up comics and read them, because they love books with good pictures and exciting stories. And here the main thing is to have time to bring new books.⠀

By reading every day, a child gets used to spending time with a book. Gradually, you will begin to give other literature to expand his horizons.

First independent reading

As part of the Marathon, we had a live broadcast with Evgenia Ershova, we talked about the very initial stages of independent reading - learning letters, folding syllables, the first reading by syllables. And this is what Evgenia advises:

“The first word read in syllables brings great joy to the child. It goes to a qualitatively new level. But do not rush, do not push the child to read a lot, too complicated words and large texts. Give him the opportunity to feel this joy, to realize his own strengths. How? Shop signs, grocery lists, names of toys and even sweets to help you.

There are games that are not related to reading, but help to read better and better. Think of a word, say it, but rearrange the syllables "sha-ka". The child will rearrange the syllables and solve the confusion. Words of three syllables will be more difficult to guess, but more interesting than "ne-um-tsa"! Learning to read can be fun and easy by playing and fooling around. Everything is within your power."

You can also learn to read in a playful way with the help of books. Author Tatiana Russita creates wonderful first reading sets. Each set contains 8 books. You can start with books where there are only short words (“Whose side?”, “But on my own!”), Then move on to polysyllabic words (“Cat Sock”). Large print, funny illustrations - and the child will read with pleasure!

A series of books for the first reading from Tatyana Russita

How to help a child “pay off”

Of course, our Marathon could not have passed without Yulia Kuznetsova, the author of Calculating and Bite-Bite Tales. Yulia shared a whole selection of life hacks on how to help a child “pay off”.

One Bite Tales

How to choose a book for independent reading, that's what Julia advises us.

The book must be of high quality, that is, well done! Illustrations, text, polygraphy.
The book must be in large print.
The volume of text is about 1/4, and the rest is pictures (which are also important!).
The book must be funny!
Offer different books for independent reading - different topics, characters, plots (both fantasy and realistic).
There must be intrigue in the book so that it is interesting to read until the very end!
A deep life idea that can be discussed with a child.

Bite-Bite Tales Ideal for First Reading

And a few more tips.

Let the child choose the book he will read. You can also choose the books you want to buy together. Involving the child in the process is very important.
Do not rush the child, reading speed is a personal feature of the child. It must be remembered that the speed will increase only in one case: when the child masters many books that are suitable for the level and interest.
Can the child read? Great, keep reading to him! Just choose those books that are interesting for you to read too - this is very important!
Play with a book. Look for words in it that begin with different letters, separate whole words on different topics. The child will be interested in what is inside the book
Don't force your child to read, but create an environment for him to want to read. Read books yourself, have family reading time, create your own book traditions.
Learn more

Teach a child to read with children's books