For many of us, teaching our children to read is taxing. If you have no prior teaching or education experience , you don't know where to start. You scroll through various Youtube videos and scrub google for articles hoping to find a solution to your ever increasing worries trying not to pull your hair out in frustration. There's so much information out there and no real answers or quick fixes! Do you have time to keep looking while your toddler pulls at your leg asking for a snack? No! Ain't nobody got time for that! Here are some quick tips to aid you in taking the first step to start your child reading today. If you have the time, of course. Items you will need:
Dry Erase Board
Marker
Sticky Notes
Don't worry if you don't have these items. The Reading Alliance tutors use these in the classroom but we understand that you may not have all these handy at home. If you don't have the supplies and don't want to head to Target and buy way more than you planned to, you can improvise! Grab a blank sheet of paper, pencil or pen, and index cards. Now, comes the fun part, implementation! Let's get to teaching.
Step One: Teach the Letter Sounds / Phonemes
When teaching your child Letter Sounds/Phonemes, write down the letters of the alphabet on each index card or sticky note. Show your child two or three letters at a time and have them practice for 10-15 minutes each day. Introduce two or three more after they’ve mastered those. When your child can quickly and accurately identify a sound in any order and at any time, you know they have got it.
Step Two: Blend the Sounds Together
According to research, children who have a strong foundation in phonics are more likely to become stronger readers in the long run. This is where it gets hard though —not because blending is "hard," but rather because parents attempt to teach too much too quickly. Starting small and slow is a more beneficial approach. For example, say three sounds and have your child blend them together aloud. Once your child is comfortable blending three sounds aloud, have them begin blending three sound words on the dry-erase board or paper. Next, make four sounds aloud, and then record them in writing. And so forth!
The blending stage is very important, so practice this one often and don't give up! The practice of blending will boost your child's comprehension and phonemic awareness skills. Long story short , blending out loud is muy importante'.
Step Three: Practice More Advanced Letter Sounds and Spellings
Now, that the hard part is over the fun can begin! Your child will be prepared to learn more complex phonics sounds, such as long vowel sounds and digraphs (two letters that combine to make one sound, like /sh/). Start to add these digraphs and long vowel phonemes to your daily practice. Practice the sounds in isolation and then have your child create words with them and the simple phonemes you have already learned. Although, this practice of blending is considered "advanced" in the world of literacy, don't be intimidated! Teach them the same way you taught the simpler sounds: two or three at a time. Slow and steady wins the race!
Bonus: Play word games
Encourage reading. No need to whip out your longest novels or children short stories. One of our favorite reading games only requires a stack of Post-It notes. The activity is called "scramble". Begin the game by writing one letter on each post-it note. Make it simple. The word MOP is great for this purpose. Mix the letters up. Ask your child, “do you know which one of these letters is /m/?” Remember to vocalize the sound not the letter. Have your child point and then place the letter M on the dry eraser board or notebook. Once successful, give them an affirmation. "Great job, we've got the first sound in mop." Then have them repeat this task with each letter in the word until the entire word is spelled out on the board.
So there you have it, three easy-to- follow steps to get your child reading, and fast . The pace you set is up to you but if you are consistent with your practice , you are guaranteed to achieve excellent results. Your child can become a proficient reader who can confidently read any book you put in front of them. No more sight word practice, no more heartache , no more struggles and late night internet searches. If you need more detailed assistance, check out our blog on Phonemes or download our phoneme chart.
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