What is the best way to teach reading
What is the Best Way to Teach Reading? A Literacy Professor Weighs In
The best way to teach reading is a topic that has been hotly debated for many decades. If the past is any indicator, we’re going to be fighting about it for decades to come. It’s worth arguing about because literacy is important. Roughly 21% of American adults are illiterate. Illiteracy has harmful impacts on health, finances, and overall well-being. Thus, literacy is powerful and is a fundamental human right.
In case you haven’t read anything by me or been to my Book Riot page, let me introduce myself. I am a former elementary school teacher. After I left the classroom, I pursued my PhD in curriculum & instruction (with an emphasis on literacy) while working as a literacy consultant for the Kentucky Department of Education. Since then, I’ve been a professor who teaches people to teach kids to read. Thus, I have a LOT of opinions on this topic. Buckle up, friends!
To understand where we are in this conversation, we have to understand where we’ve been. Let’s dive in, shall we?
A Brief History of the “Reading Wars”
The debate about the best way to teach reading is not new, nor is the science complete. In fact, the “Reading Wars” have been going on for decades. Here’s a little bit about what we actually know.
Whole Language vs. Phonics
Even now, despite the changes in what we call things, the ongoing war is between those who believe a whole language approach is the best way to teach reading and those who advocate for a focus on phonics. The basic premise is that some educators believe in exposure to books and using meaning to help decode texts, and a competing faction that believes in phonics instruction as providing the necessary tools to decode text. Over the years, the field has swung between the two sides. For a couple of decades, whole language has been on top. Now, we’re shifting back to the phonics end of the spectrum.
Those against whole language are adamant that kids are being taught to guess at words they don’t know and that approach is failing them.
Others who are against an overemphasis on phonics lament the drill-and-kill, decontextualized approach to reading. The truth is, both sides are right, and they’re also both wrong.
The “Science of Reading”
If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s to listen to science. Unfortunately, that means there are some people in the world that can use so-called science to manipulate others. The “science of reading” is a hot term that has caught on lately, but it means nothing. The term was created by media outlets as a way to present an emphasis on phonics instruction.
In this recent surge of interest in reading, one state has been placed on a pedestal. A specific program produced growth in Mississippi, citing the highest growth of all states on the National Assessment for Education Progress (NAEP) in 2019. But the truth behind that program is much more complex. Nonetheless, state legislatures are scrambling to find the same success for their own populations.
Literacy researchers like me, as well as many teachers, are so tired of this game.
It seems like every year there’s a new miracle program, a new way to do things. Unlike many professions, everyone has an opinion about teaching. The mentality of “those who can’t do, teach” has permeated our culture. People believe that teaching is an easy job. Consequently, our expertise is devalued and we’re not treated like other professionals — just take a look at the pay if you need more evidence.
Some of the Politics Behind the “Science of Reading”
Politics and education go hand-in-hand, so it’s important to look at who is pushing certain decisions. One interested stakeholder in all of this is the International Dyslexia Association (ILD). If you click that link, it’ll take you to a test that suggests most of us have dyslexia. In actuality, only 5–15% of the population has dyslexia. The organization has branches in 37 states and DC. Big Dyslexia (I’m sorry, I can’t help myself) treats all learning difficulties as dyslexia. They have a lot of support from worried parents and lawmakers, resulting in policy and curricular changes that aren’t necessarily sound.
Despite the fact that there is no best way to teach reading to all kids with reading disabilities, the ILD standards suggest otherwise. In my state, the ILD standards are being touted alongside standards from the International Literacy Association, which is a 60-year-old professional organization that is widely respected among teachers and researchers. ILA has responded to ILD, saying (among many other things), that ILD standards and claims are based on misinterpreted research and represent an inaccurate stance on teaching reading. According to ILA (p. 8):
“ILA’s position is that teachers do not need to spend substantial amounts of time learning about dyslexia, which, as has been argued, is a construct of questionable utility. Nor should teachers be obligated to learn a specific and poorly researched approach to preventing and remediating reading difficulties.”
The ILA represents the views of thousands of educators and educational researchers worldwide. The organization has contributed a great deal to what we know about the best way to teach reading.
Yet many states are legislating that professional development and other resources be allotted to mitigating dyslexia. Again, educators are being undermined by outside stakeholders.
A Balanced Approach
I’m not supposed to say this anymore, but the best way to teach reading is through a balanced approach. Unfortunately, “balanced literacy” has become synonymous with whole language, so opponents of balanced literacy believe we already tried it and failed. What we’ve actually done is a little of this and a little of that, but none of it with enough time or fidelity.
Children need to be taught the code. They need to learn letter-sound relationships. However, since English often deviates from its own rules, phonics instruction isn’t enough. There are words that kids need to learn by sight. Additionally, there are patterns and word parts that kids can learn and apply to hosts of words.
While they’re learning all of this, kids need to encounter words in contexts. They need to apply their skills to a variety of text types.
They need to fall in love with lots of great books so that they’re motivated to read. The best way to teach reading is to teach kids how language works and to give them lots of practice enjoying books.
Systematic Phonics Instruction
Phonics (and its precursor phonological awareness) are crucial to reading instruction. We have to teach children how to crack the code, which means we have to teach how letters work. Furthermore, we have to teach this in a systematic way. Teaching the letter of the week or any other arbitrary approach is not effective.
We need to take a developmental approach to literacy instruction. That means that we meet kids where they are and prepare them to move forward. Children move through developmental stages in reading, just like they do in other areas. We know from research that emergent readers typically start to develop letter-sound correspondence starting with beginning sounds in consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words (p. 11). They then start to notice and represent ending sounds, followed by medial vowels.
Once they’ve mastered that, they move into the beginner stage and on through transitional, intermediate, and skillful. (Sometimes these stages go by other names or are broken down further.)
I don’t expect you to know what all that means, but teachers should. Knowing the stages of development means we can assess where a child is and use that information to plan appropriate instruction that will move the child forward in the developmental sequence. That’s how we determine which letters and other features to teach at a particular time. (And that’s why grade levels are nonsense that I promise to rant about at a later date.)
The best phonics instruction includes hands-on practice building words, practicing skills with developmentally appropriate texts, and getting targeted guidance. There’s no need to drill kids to death and make them hate reading. Phonics can be phun!
Exposure to Rich Texts
Surprise! Books help kids learn to read. Reading aloud to children of all ages offers a host of benefits from improving comprehension skills to expanding vocabulary.
Further, these experiences foster a love of reading and increase motivation.
Children need to apply their decoding skills to actual books. They need exposure and access to lots of different kinds of books so they are prepared to read widely throughout their lives. Moreover, studies have found a correlation between access to books and literacy development.
As I mentioned earlier, the English language often deviates from its own rules. For example, all of these words include the long i sound: hi, flight, bye, cry, bite, pie. Thus, when we teach a child that the letter i makes a particular sound, we haven’t taught them all the ways to spell that sound.
This is another place books help. Children who read widely will encounter more words and more patterns. They’ll build a larger sight word vocabulary through exposure and practice. While we can’t teach every pattern and every exception to the rules, we can offer children opportunities to apply what they know to lots of situations by sharing great books.
A Focus on Comprehension
If you read a page of text, but you can’t explain what information it contained, did you really read? Decoding without comprehension is just word calling. To read, you have to make sense of the words you read. Children can only practice comprehension by reading words in context. That means they have to read books (and articles, passages, posts, etc.). Even the current literacy champ, Mississippi, acknowledges “language comprehension is equally important and works best when exposing students to high-quality, engaging instructional materials.”
The Bottom Line
It’s not surprising that people are grasping at miracle cures, considering that two-thirds of United States 4th graders are reading “below grade level.” (I will save my views on levels for another day.) We want what’s best for kids and for the world. That means we’ve got to teach people to read well.
Sadly, there’s no magic bullet. There’s no one program or strategy that will work in all classrooms.
We are not going to read aloud or phonics our way into better literacy in this country. Reading is a complex process requiring a nuanced approach.
Reading is about comprehension. It’s about making sense of text so that you can gather information. That requires more than flash cards and letter-sound matching, but also more than being read to and having access to lots of books. Both sides need to come together and give a truly balanced approach a fair try.
9 Fun and Easy Tips
With the abundance of information out there, it can seem like there is no clear answer about how to teach a child to read. As a busy parent, you may not have time to wade through all of the conflicting opinions.
That’s why we’re here to help! There are some key elements when it comes to teaching kids to read, so we’ve rounded up nine effective tips to help you boost your child’s reading skills and confidence.
These tips are simple, fit into your lifestyle, and help build foundational reading skills while having fun!
Tips For How To Teach A Child To Read
1) Focus On Letter Sounds Over Letter Names
We used to learn that “b” stands for “ball.
” But when you say the word ball, it sounds different than saying the letter B on its own. That can be a strange concept for a young child to wrap their head around!
Instead of focusing on letter names, we recommend teaching them the sounds associated with each letter of the alphabet. For example, you could explain that B makes the /b/ sound (pronounced just like it sounds when you say the word ball aloud).
Once they firmly establish a link between a handful of letters and their sounds, children can begin to sound out short words. Knowing the sounds for B, T, and A allows a child to sound out both bat and tab.
As the number of links between letters and sounds grows, so will the number of words your child can sound out!
Now, does this mean that if your child already began learning by matching formal alphabet letter names with words, they won’t learn to match sounds and letters or learn how to read? Of course not!
We simply recommend this process as a learning method that can help some kids with the jump from letter sounds to words.
2) Begin With Uppercase Letters
Practicing how to make letters is way easier when they all look unique! This is why we teach uppercase letters to children who aren’t in formal schooling yet.
Even though lowercase letters are the most common format for letters (if you open a book at any page, the majority of the letters will be lowercase), uppercase letters are easier to distinguish from one another and, therefore, easier to identify.
Think about it –– “b” and “d” look an awful lot alike! But “B” and “D” are much easier to distinguish. Starting with uppercase letters, then, will help your child to grasp the basics of letter identification and, subsequently, reading.
To help your child learn uppercase letters, we find that engaging their sense of physical touch can be especially useful. If you want to try this, you might consider buying textured paper, like sandpaper, and cutting out the shapes of uppercase letters.
Ask your child to put their hands behind their back, and then place the letter in their hands.
They can use their sense of touch to guess what letter they’re holding! You can play the same game with magnetic letters.
3) Incorporate Phonics
Research has demonstrated that kids with a strong background in phonics (the relationship between sounds and symbols) tend to become stronger readers in the long-run.
A phonetic approach to reading shows a child how to go letter by letter — sound by sound — blending the sounds as you go in order to read words that the child (or adult) has not yet memorized.
Once kids develop a level of automatization, they can sound out words almost instantly and only need to employ decoding with longer words. Phonics is best taught explicitly, sequentially, and systematically — which is the method HOMER uses.
If you’re looking for support helping your child learn phonics, our HOMER Learn & Grow app might be exactly what you need! With a proven reading pathway for your child, HOMER makes learning fun!
4) Balance Phonics And Sight Words
Sight words are also an important part of teaching your child how to read.
These are common words that are usually not spelled the way they sound and can’t be decoded (sounded out).
Because we don’t want to undo the work your child has done to learn phonics, sight words should be memorized. But keep in mind that learning sight words can be challenging for many young children.
So, if you want to give your child a good start on their reading journey, it’s best to spend the majority of your time developing and reinforcing the information and skills needed to sound out words.
5) Talk A Lot
Even though talking is usually thought of as a speech-only skill, that’s not true. Your child is like a sponge. They’re absorbing everything, all the time, including the words you say (and the ones you wish they hadn’t heard)!
Talking with your child frequently and engaging their listening and storytelling skills can increase their vocabulary.
It can also help them form sentences, become familiar with new words and how they are used, as well as learn how to use context clues when someone is speaking about something they may not know a lot about.
All of these skills are extremely helpful for your child on their reading journey, and talking gives you both an opportunity to share and create moments you’ll treasure forever!
6) Keep It Light
Reading is about having fun and exploring the world (real and imaginary) through text, pictures, and illustrations. When it comes to reading, it’s better for your child to be relaxed and focused on what they’re learning than squeezing in a stressful session after a long day.
We’re about halfway through the list and want to give a gentle reminder that your child shouldn’t feel any pressure when it comes to reading — and neither should you!
Although consistency is always helpful, we recommend focusing on quality over quantity. Fifteen minutes might sound like a short amount of time, but studies have shown that 15 minutes a day of HOMER’s reading pathway can increase early reading scores by 74%!
It may also take some time to find out exactly what will keep your child interested and engaged in learning.
That’s OK! If it’s not fun, lighthearted, and enjoyable for you and your child, then shake it off and try something new.
7) Practice Shared Reading
While you read with your child, consider asking them to repeat words or sentences back to you every now and then while you follow along with your finger.
There’s no need to stop your reading time completely if your child struggles with a particular word. An encouraging reminder of what the word means or how it’s pronounced is plenty!
Another option is to split reading aloud time with your child. For emerging readers, you can read one line and then ask them to read the next. For older children, reading one page and letting them read the next page is beneficial.
Doing this helps your child feel capable and confident, which is important for encouraging them to read well and consistently!
This technique also gets your child more acquainted with the natural flow of reading. While they look at the pictures and listen happily to the story, they’ll begin to focus on the words they are reading and engage more with the book in front of them.
Rereading books can also be helpful. It allows children to develop a deeper understanding of the words in a text, make familiar words into “known” words that are then incorporated into their vocabulary, and form a connection with the story.
We wholeheartedly recommend rereading!
8) Play Word Games
Getting your child involved in reading doesn’t have to be about just books. Word games can be a great way to engage your child’s skills without reading a whole story at once.
One of our favorite reading games only requires a stack of Post-It notes and a bunched-up sock. For this activity, write sight words or words your child can sound out onto separate Post-It notes. Then stick the notes to the wall.
Your child can then stand in front of the Post-Its with the bunched-up sock in their hands. You say one of the words and your child throws the sock-ball at the Post-It note that matches!
9) Read With Unconventional Materials
In the same way that word games can help your child learn how to read, so can encouraging your child to read without actually using books!
If you’re interested in doing this, consider using PlayDoh, clay, paint, or indoor-safe sand to form and shape letters or words.
Another option is to fill a large pot with magnetic letters. For emerging learners, suggest that they pull a letter from the pot and try to name the sound it makes. For slightly older learners, see if they can name a word that begins with the same sound, or grab a collection of letters that come together to form a word.
As your child becomes more proficient, you can scale these activities to make them a little more advanced. And remember to have fun with it!
Reading Comes With Time And Practice
Overall, we want to leave you with this: there is no single answer to how to teach a child to read. What works for your neighbor’s child may not work for yours –– and that’s perfectly OK!
Patience, practicing a little every day, and emphasizing activities that let your child enjoy reading are the things we encourage most. Reading is about fun, exploration, and learning!
And if you ever need a bit of support, we’re here for you! At HOMER, we’re your learning partner.
Start your child’s reading journey with confidence with our personalized program plus expert tips and learning resources.
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How to teach a child to read: important rules and effective methods Lifehacker has selected the best ways for responsible parents.
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0How to understand that it's time: signs of psychological readiness
- The child is fluent in sentences and understands the meaning of what is said.
- The child distinguishes sounds (what speech therapists call developed phonemic hearing). Simply put, the baby will easily understand by ear where house and bow , and where - volume and hatch .
- Your child pronounces all the sounds and has no speech problems.
- The child understands directions: left-right, up-down. Let's omit the point that adults often confuse right and left.
For learning to read, it is important that the baby can follow the text from left to right and from top to bottom.
8 rules that will help teach your child to read
Set an example
In a family where there is a culture and tradition of reading, children themselves will reach for books. Read not because it is necessary and useful, but because it is a pleasure for you.
Read together and discuss
You read aloud and then look at the picture together, encouraging the child to interact with the book: “Who is this picture? Can you show me the cat's ears? And who is this standing next to her? Older children can be asked more difficult questions: “Why did he do this? What do you think will happen next?"
Go from simple to complex
Start with sounds, then move on to syllables. Let the words consisting of repeated syllables be the first: ma-ma, pa-pa, uncle-dya, nya-nya . After them, move on to more complex combinations: ko-t, zhu-k, do-m .
Show that letters are everywhere
Play a game. Let the child find the letters that surround him on the street and at home. These are the names of stores, and memos on information stands, and even traffic light messages: it happens that the inscription “Go” lights up on green, and “Wait so many seconds” on red.
Play
And play again. Stack blocks with letters and syllables, make up words, ask your child to read you some kind of sign or inscription on the packaging in the store.
Use every opportunity to practice
Whether you are waiting in line at the clinic or driving somewhere, take out a picture book with short stories to accompany them and invite your child to read together.
Build on your success
Repeat familiar texts, look for familiar characters in new stories. The runaway bunny is found in both "Teremka" and "Kolobok".
Do not force
This is perhaps the most important thing. Don't take away a child's childhood.
Learning should not go through violence and tears.
6 time-tested methods
ABCs and primers
katarina_rosh/livejournal.comTraditional, but the longest way. The difference between these books is that the alphabet fixes each letter with a mnemonic picture: a drum will be drawn on the page from B , and a spinning top next to Yu . The alphabet helps to remember letters and - often - interesting rhymes, but will not teach you how to read.
The primer consistently teaches the child to combine sounds into syllables, and syllables into words. This process is not easy and requires perseverance.
There are quite a lot of author's primers now. According to the books of Nadezhda Betenkova, Vseslav Goretsky, Dmitry Fonin, Natalya Pavlova, children can study both with their parents before school and in the first grade.
Parents agree that one of the most understandable methods for teaching preschoolers is Nadezhda Zhukova's primer.
The author simply explains the most difficult thing for a child: how to turn letters into syllables, how to read ma-ma , and not start naming individual letters me-a-me-a .
Zaitsev's Cubes
igrushkinadom.comIf a child masters letters and syllables sequentially while learning the ABC book, then in 52 Zaitsev's Cubes he is given access to everything at once: a single letter or combinations of a consonant and a vowel, a consonant and a hard or soft sign.
The child effortlessly learns the differences between voiceless and voiced sounds, because the cubes with voiceless consonants are filled with wood, and the cubes with voiced consonants are filled with metal.
Cubes differ in size. The large ones depict hard warehouses, the small ones - soft ones. The author of the technique explains this by the fact that when we pronounce to (hard warehouse), the mouth opens wide, or (soft warehouse) - lips in a half smile.
The set includes tables with warehouses that a parent sings (yes, he doesn't speak, but sings) to his child.
The child quickly masters reading with the help of cubes, but may begin to swallow the endings and will face difficulties already at school when parsing a word by composition.
"Skladushki" and "Teremki" by Vyacheslav Voskobovich
igrushkinadom.comVyacheslav Voskobovich reworked Zaitsev's idea in "Skladushki": 21 cards represent all the warehouses of the Russian language with nice thematic pictures. Included is a CD with songs, the texts of which go under each picture.
Folders are great for kids who like looking at pictures. Each of them is an occasion to discuss with the child where the kitten is, what the puppy is doing, where the beetle flew.
It is possible to teach a child with these cards from the age of three. At the same time, it is worth noting that the author of the methodology himself does not consider it necessary.
Vyacheslav Voskobovich: “How to keep a child in yourself? Play!" boost early development.
"Teremki" by Voskobovich consist of 12 wooden cubes with consonants and 12 cardboard cubes with vowels. First, the child gets acquainted with the alphabet and tries with the help of parents to come up with words that begin with each of the letters.
Then it's time to learn the syllables. A is inserted into the tower with the letter M - and the first syllable is obtained ma . From several towers you can lay out words. Learning is based on play. So, when replacing the vowel , the house will turn into smoke .
You can start playing tower blocks from the age of two. At the same time, parents will not be left alone with the cubes: the kit includes a manual with a detailed description of the methodology and game options.
Dynamic Chaplygin Cubes
umnitsa.ru Evgeny Chaplygin's manual includes 10 cubes and 10 moving blocks.
Each dynamic block consists of a pair - a consonant and a vowel. The task of the child is to twist the cubes and find a pair.
At the initial stage, as with any other method of learning to read in warehouses, the child makes the simplest words from repeating syllables: ma-ma, pa-pa, ba-ba . The involved motor skills help to quickly remember the shape of the letters, and the search for already familiar syllables turns into an exciting game. The cubes are accompanied by a manual describing the methodology and words that can be composed.
The optimal age for classes is 4-5 years. You can start earlier, but only in the game format.
Doman's cards
steshka.ruAmerican doctor Glenn Doman proposes to teach children not individual letters or even syllables, but whole words. Parents name and show the child the words on the cards for 1-2 seconds. In this case, the baby is not required to repeat what he heard.
Classes start with 15 cards with the simplest concepts like mom and dad .
Gradually, the number of words increases, those already learned leave the set, and the child begins to study phrases: for example, color + object, size + object.
How can one understand that a child has understood and memorized the visual image of a word, if the author of the methodology recommends starting classes from birth? It is worth paying attention to an important detail that parents miss in an attempt to make their child the smartest, most developed, the best.
Glenn Doman in "The Harmonious Development of the Child" strongly emphasizes that it is not necessary to arrange tests and checks for the child: kids do not like this and lose interest in classes.
It's better to remember 50 cards out of 100 than 10 out of 10.
Glenn Doman
But given that parents can't help but check, he advises the child to play the game if they want and are ready. For example, you can put a few cards and ask to bring one or point to it.
Today, psychologists, neurophysiologists Steven Novella, MD, "Psychomotor Patterning" and pediatricians American Academy of Pediatrics "The Doman-Delacato Treatment of Neurologically Handicapped Children" agree that the Doman method is not aimed at teaching reading, but at mechanical memorization of visual images of words.
The child turns out to be an object of learning and is almost deprived of the opportunity to learn something on his own.
It is also worth adding: in order to proceed to the Doman reading stage, parents need to prepare cards with all (!) words that are found in a particular book.
6. Montessori Reading
howwemontessori.comMontessori reading comes from the reverse: first we write and only then we read. Letters are the same pictures, so you first need to learn how to draw them and only then engage in pronunciation and reading. Children begin by tracing and shading the letters, and through this, they memorize their outline. When several vowels and consonants have been studied, they move on to the first simple words.
Much attention is paid to the tactile component, so children can literally touch the alphabet, cut out of rough or velvety paper.
The value of the methodology lies in learning through play. So, you can put a rough letter and a plate of semolina in front of the child and offer to first circle the sign with your finger, and then repeat this on the semolina.
The difficulty for parents is to purchase or prepare a significant amount of handouts.
Conclusions
On the Internet and on posters advertising "educators", you will be offered ultra-modern methods for teaching a child to read at three, two years old, or even from birth. But let's be realistic: a happy mother is needed a year, not developmental classes.
The myth that it's too late after three is firmly planted in the minds and hearts of tired parents and is actively fueled by marketers.
The authors of the methods unanimously insist that the most natural learning process for a child is through play, and not through classes in which the parent plays the role of a strict controller. Your main assistant in learning is the curiosity of the child himself.
Some children will study for six months and start reading at three, others have to wait a couple of years to learn in just a month. Focus on the interests of the child.
If he likes books and pictures, then primers and Folders will come to the rescue. If he is a fidget, then cubes and the Montessori system will help.
In learning to read, everything is simple and complex at the same time. If your child often sees you with a book, you have a tradition of reading before bed, your chances of getting your baby interested in reading will increase significantly.
Tell us in the comments how you teach reading and what are your children's favorite books.
Do no harm! How to teach a child to read? The teacher answers questions from parents
Reviews, 05 October 2020
Is it worth teaching a child to read or leave this task to teachers? No matter how you answer this question for yourself, the main thing is not to harm. Olga Uzorova, an experienced teacher-practitioner, methodologist and author of educational and developmental aids, answered frequently asked questions from parents and told when it is necessary to teach a child to read and how to do it correctly.
At what age can you start learning to read?
In this issue, we start from the word "can". You can start at 2, 3 or 4 years old, but only if the child himself reaches for the book and asks to show him the letters. Just like that, at your own request, you don’t need to pull the child out of the sandbox and put him at the alphabet! If there is a desire, the right technique will help. Parents really liked the Primer. Learning to read from 2-3 years old" and its continuation "Learning to read from 3-4 years old" - they can be offered to children from 2 to 6-7 years old, these are universal aids.
What if the child knows the letters well, but linking them into syllables and reading is not given in any way?
If it doesn’t work out at all, and you actively spoil the child’s mood with failed attempts, then it’s better to end such classes. A small life hack on how to teach how to put letters into syllables. Show with a simple example: the letter O and the letter H are together OH.
Practice adding simple syllables at home, on the street, on trips. For example, in the primer “Learning to read from 2–3 years old”, all words consist of 2–3 letters, and all dialogues consist of these short words. This is partly the secret of the success of the book: having mastered the simplest examples, it is easier for the baby to move on. If it still doesn’t work, turn to the best friends of elementary school teachers - speech therapists!
What NOT to do when learning to read?
In no case should you scold a child. If something doesn’t work out, it’s your failure in the first place, which means you are using some kind of wrong teaching method. Not only has the child already spent a lot of time and effort trying to listen to your explanations, but he also flew in for this one! Next time, he won’t want to study, no matter how they wave the primer in front of him.
It is impossible to deprive the child of a situation of educational success. If he managed to remember a letter or read a syllable, do not take it for granted. It is very difficult for a baby, he did a great job, respect the work of your child. If something worked out - be sure to praise!
Why teach a child to read quickly and increase the speed of reading? He reads the best he can.
Our brain perceives information in a split second, and slow reading slows down this process. If you want your child to develop thinking, you must definitely monitor the speed of reading. If the child began to read in syllables and continues to do so for a long time (a year or two), without going to the next level, then something is wrong. If you are unable to independently switch from syllabic reading to smooth reading, look for a specialist who will select a competent technique.
Teaching reading and self-esteem of a child - how to find a balance?
A balance is needed in this matter! Many parents buy the alphabet for a one-year-old baby.
First, the child learns letters for a long time, then they require him to learn how to put them into syllables. Here, the scythe often finds itself on a stone, because parents are waiting for rapid progress, it seems to them that it is very easy. But for a baby, this is a very difficult task, you need to be patient. If a child does not succeed, his self-esteem suffers. And a preschooler's self-esteem must be overestimated, otherwise it will not be easy for him and his teachers at school. If a child has his hands down, he is sure in advance that he will not succeed, it is very difficult for a teacher to pull him out of this pit of low self-esteem. Therefore, be sure to praise the child for achievements, create situations of educational success and in no case scold!
Should preschoolers be taught to read?
Balzac once said that the future of the nation is in the hands of mothers. May these words help you gather all your strength and patience! I perfectly understand: you have other professions, your own hobbies and hardly a lot of time for teaching a child.
But it's still better if you start teaching your baby to read before school. In schools, little time is now devoted to this, and teachers directly or in hints say that it is very desirable to teach a child to read at least at a speed of 30-40 words per minute by the first grade. This is a fairly fast syllable reading. There simply isn't enough time in elementary school to teach reading.
Is it possible to practice irregularly and when it is convenient for parents?
In the old training manuals, according to which the children of the royal family were taught, there is such an expression: training consists not so much in the rules as in the exercise. You can quickly explain the theory to the child and tell the rule, but if there are no systematic exercises, then the knowledge will not be assimilated. How is any good program built? A few hours to get acquainted with the topic, many, many, many working out and practical exercises, a few hours of final control and obligatory hours for working on bugs.
