Reading is not a ‘natural process that happens overnight, and it takes time and effort. We live in a society where reading is seen as an important skill. Whether it is in the workplace or life, it is a responsibility to be taken by parents and teachers together. However, as working parents, we lack time to sift through the various points of view.
Until they start reading at home, most people don’t give phonics any thought. But being a reader begins with developing phonemic awareness and phonics knowledge. Children learn to read when they identify letters and connect them to sounds.
Children who struggle with phonics have a harder time learning to read, which is why phonics awareness in children is important. Students must be guided step-by-step through a set of alphabetical letters and sounds. Students will be able to read more fluently if they use their decoding abilities on challenging words.
And with so much information, there is no clear answer on how to teach your kids to read. If your child isn’t ready yet, do not put unnecessary pressure on them. Implementing all the strategies of reading at once will not help. Give your child enough time to develop a reading habit.
Although reading isn’t easy, the steps taken to develop these skills are simple and easy. Begin with pre-reading abilities. Then, progress to letters, sight words, building words, and other phonics skills. Start from scratch and allow for the child’s natural development. Listed below are some prerequisites needed for reading before the actual skills. They are as follows:
Pre-Reading skills needed:
Pre-reading skills are crucial in preparing kids for the future. A love for books begins at home. As a result, reading aloud to your children is highly recommended. Some of what you read may be difficult for very young children to understand. Slowly but steadily, they will learn how books work, and they will also be able to distinguish print from pictures.
It’s a must to learn the alphabet before they can read, and they must also be able to recognize a large number of words both visually and audibly. As a result, there is an increase in the rate of progress. Keep their attention using rhymes, sounds, and letters. With this kind of help, they can do more with the books they read in terms of interactivity.
Turning the pages of a book is an excellent approach for kids to work on their fine motor skills. With regular reading, kids begin to develop a love for stories, and it improves their imagination. Also, arranging books in different reading levels helps them to up their level in reading.
Teachers can also help students learn common vocabulary and sight words. This will reduce the cognitive strain of decoding sentences. In turn, it helps them to improve their vocabulary and comprehension skills. Hence they can conclude and give attention to detail.
Tips for teaching your child to read at home:
Make reading a positive and enriching experience for your children. Because every child learns at a different rate, remember that an essential thing you can do is make reading fun for them. It’s easy to instill a love of reading in your child early on, and you need to start reading consistently and work on different activities. You can help them by letting them child pick out their books on occasion.
Many parents are unaware of the different benefits taught to a child by simply reading to them. You’re not only teaching them how to decode words, and you are helping them to improve their comprehension and expand their vocabulary. You allow them to be confident and make them hear what a fluent reader sounds like. More than anything else, encouraging your child to read regularly helps them develop a love of reading, which is the best foundation for future reading success. So:
- Start with a phonics awareness
- Incorporate letters and sounds when teaching
- Repeating words to ensure that they get familiar
- Building words to expand vocabulary
- Exposure to books and choice of books
- Ask a lot of questions before, during, or after reading
- Read together every day and have fun
Conclusion:
Our children’s future success is something we as parents worry a lot about a lot. However, we frequently overlook the fact that youngsters pick it up through watching their parents. So, setting an example in whatever we do helps them follow in our footsteps.
We urge most is perseverance; doing a little bit of practicing every day goes a long way. Focusing on activities that help your youngster love reading benefits them immensely. Reading is all about having a good time, discovering new things, and expanding your knowledge!
Take a break and read a book…for the sake of your child, of course!
