Why Reading is Important For Children

Top 10 Tips that Help Children to Read

What does she have to do with remembering numbers? I will tell you in 45 seconds.

Elephants are known to their exceptional memory. Like us, they are mammals with long life-spans. Like us, elephants have evolved to remember things according to their evolutionary needs of survival in social groups.

Did you know that elder female elephants exhibit superior memory than the rest of their tribe?

10 Tips that Help Children to Read

Developing a genuine love for reading is a passport to endless opportunities. But before children can use their thinking and reasoning abilities to create meaning while reading and writing, they must first learn basic reading. Each child will learn slightly differently, but there are three core learning styles; visual, auditory (listening), and kinesthetic (physical). A combination of these can help to ensure optimal results and a lifetime of reading success.

Phonics is a method for teaching reading and writing that combines two learning styles by demonstrating the relationship between the sounds and the letters or groups of letters in the written language. This combination has been proven to yield successful young readers time and time again because it does not rely on just one type of learning style. Regardless of the learning style you proceed with, here are a few tips to help your young reader find success.

Lessons To Teach Your Child To Read

Start Them Young

Most children learn to read between the ages of 5-8 years old. However, children as young as 2 have been able to begin basic reading skills when using the proper techniques such as phonics foundations. Words are everywhere in our daily lives so there is no shortage of exposure, from signs to food packaging and their favorite nursery story.

Don’t Wait For School

The alphabet of any native language is a great place to start. There are many nursery rhymes and common songs that incorporate the a-b-c’s in a fun and engaging way. The alphabet can be learned through sight and sound, individually or together, and is a good basis for basic word development and recognition.

Start with the Alphabet

Waiting for school to begin teaching reading skills will put a child behind from the start. In addition to starting later than other children, so many schools still prefer teaching “sight words” and use the ineffective strategy of guessing and skipping over unknown words. This is why one-third of all 4th-grade students can’t even read at a basic level. Once children start learning in groups, it is inevitable that some will get left behind while others will excel. Parents should take an early and active role in helping children to read before reaching the education system.

Make it Fun

Children will naturally be more engaged when learning is fun. Using activities, games and stories are all great ways to make reading fun. These fun activities also tend to incorporate more than just one style of learning. Learning to read should never be a chore or task that brings anxiety or stress. Successful reading only comes from enjoyment and can open the doors to a child’s imagination.

Reading out loud

Flashcards and videos are great ways to combine the phonics learning styles of vision and auditory. They help to enhance the relationship between letters and sounds. Illustrations and big print are also very visually appealing, helping to make the learning fun and interactive while helping to create cognitive connections. If there seems to be any hesitancy, be sure to consider any limitations of brain spatial function, and emotional or physical limitations and rule out any need for glasses or other support.

Reading by Sight

Learning the connection between sounds and letters is a key part of phonics learning. Reading out loud also helps to secure the learning in memory. The emphasis on words through verbal/auditory comprehension is also a supportive technique for learning proper pronunciation and can help with writing when the time comes because they can then sound out their words.

Imitation

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and it comes naturally to children. Infants love to imitate adults and this natural desire can be directed to learning to read. Copying sounds of letters and words will help a child pronounce new words. Additionally, turning pages is a great way to practice their fine motor skills like grasping and pinching to turn pages of books.

Repetition

The ability to learn and retain new information is strongly linked to repetition. Some studies show that repetition up to 30 times or more is effective with new information. Repetition does not need to involve the exact same format each time, it could be reading, recognizing, and saying the same words in different formats such as games, books, and other styles.

Chunking

Chunking is a trick for reducing cognitive load. The easier it is for the brain to take in new information, the easier it is for it to also be retained. We remember phone numbers much better when they are in groups of numbers rather than one long series of numbers and learning words is the same. Start with learning base or core words and then add in prefixes and suffixes to grow words that are already familiar to them. The Dolch word list is a list of frequently used English words, compiled by Edward William Dolch, a major proponent of the “whole-word” method of beginning reading instruction.

Short and Sweet

Learning to recognize words and reading sessions do not need to be lengthy to be effective, in fact, short 10-15 minute sessions daily are far more effective than longer sessions that are less frequent. Children have short attention spans and it is important to work within that span to see optimal results. Once a child’s attention span has lapsed, memory function decreases and is replaced with frustration. It is also important to choose optimal times to learn reading, avoiding times when a child is too tired or hungry. As those attributes will also negatively affect comprehension and memory retention.

Reading Gives Children Skills and Confidence

Teach Children To Read in 15 Minutes a Day

Learning to read is the foundation that gives children the skill and confidence to succeed and achieve their full potential. Taking control of teaching your child to read can seem like a scary venture but having a child that struggles to read and comprehend is stressful and can really hold them back from a prosperous future. Applying these 10 tips with the proven techniques of phonics will result in excellent reading skills that will last a lifetime.

Learn How To Teach Your Child To Read

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