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The Process of Learning to Read

In this site I will try to explain the process which children go through in learning to read and write, what strategies are usually taught and how you can help at home. I’ll explain terms you may or may not have heard such as synthetic phonics and phonemic awareness.

As a teacher with plenty of experience in teaching children from the ages of 3 – 7 and also as a parent of three children aged between 3 and 17 whom I’ve taught or am teaching to read and write, I hope you find I have made this site interesting and useful, and that you keep coming back to look for more information. If there is anything you would like me to explain or include, please let me know.

The process of learning to read and write begins long before your child starts school and receives formal instruction and teaching. Listening to language, learning to speak and looking at print in all forms such as in books, on food packets and as logos for products are just some of the things which all contribute to your child understanding that print carries meaning and it is important to decode this to understand it. It is essential that they understand the importance of reading and to see it in a positive and enjoyable light for them to be motivated and excited about learning to read for themselves. If they do not consider it to be a fun thing to do, they will be unlikely to want to cooperate in your attempts to help them!

Learning to Read:

When children first pick up a book, it is usually with the intention of putting it in their mouth to suck or chew! As they get older and with a lot of patience, they will start to enjoy you ‘reading’ with them, but usually short picture books with few words as they don’t have the patience to wait for you to read even a sentence before they grab the book and try to turn the page. But don’t despair; learning to turn the pages in a book is a key skill that they need to master before they start learning to read, so the more practice the better! At this stage the pictures are the most important part of the reading experience and encouraging interaction and attention span by asking questions about the pictures, pointing things out and getting your child to talk about what they can see will help them to move onto the next stage naturally when they are ready.

Eventually they will develop the patience and interest which will allow you to fully share the book with your child, actually reading the words on the page before they turn it over! It is still important to focus on pictures and talk about what they can see and find out from them, as the pictures are one of the things which will help them when they are beginning to read for themselves. Also after each page or section, you can discuss and ask questions about what you have read to make sure they understand the story. This helps to teach them that comprehension is an important part of reading and they should expect to understand what is read as well as helping to increase their vocabulary. Another thing you can do when reading is track the words with your finger or a pointer stick so they see that the words are what you are reading, rather than the pictures and that we always read from left to right.

When your child understands that text carries meaning, can identify where the words are in the book and where we start to read, can turn the pages him or herself and talk about the pictures, they may be ready to start to read very simple books themselves. There is a good site here. It has a fun little screening tool online to give you some indication as to whether they are nearly ready or not, though ultimately you know your own child best and know if they are ready and willing or just likely to be frustrated and uninterested!

You may find that they can ‘read’ their favourite books from memory surprisingly accurately and this is something which should be praised and encouraged even though a lot of adults are worried that this is not ‘real reading’. It is, however, a very good start! It is best if your child shows an interest first in letters and words and you can answer their questions such as “What does that word/letter say?”, but there are ways to pique their interest and understanding by playing fun games and activities which will lead them to the point where they can ask such questions!

All children learn in different ways, but the two main ways to learn to read are by learning phonics and developing sight vocabulary. Some children will prefer one method over the other, and others will find both equally necessary. In the next installment we will look into what these are.

Other Interesting Reading

• Celebrate Children’s Book Week by teaching children to read « Civitas – Civitas has marked the start of Children’s Book Week (www. uk/cbw/) by making available for the first time in a commercial edition a phonics-based reading course that has achieved sensational results with children from all backgrounds, including the most deprived. Irina Tyk wrote The Butterfly Book in 1993 to make available to other teachers and parents her method of teaching reading using phonics a system that teaches children to read by recognising the 44 sounds that make up the English language.
• Getting back to reading basics to rebuild a prosperous society – We have all heard “give a person a fish and you feed them for a day… teach them to fish and you feed them for life.” I say, “first you need to feed a person, so they have the strength and the dignity to learn how to fish… next, …
• GrampaSaidSo.com Teaching Children To Read Early Can Seriously … – Technorati Tags: teaching children to read,love of books,child development,learning to read Teaching children to read from an early age can have dramatic.
• The Educational System Was Designed to Keep Us Uneducated and Docile – http://newsfromthewest.blogspot.com/2009/03/educational-system-was-designed-to-keep.html. The Educational System Was Designed to Keep Us Uneducated and Docile. By Patrick Grimm Tuesday, March 3, 2009 …
• New Dream Blog » Blog Archive » AM Inspiration: Add Your Bedtime … – Reading with children operates on the same formative level as the gentle or harsh words that shape young personalities. As Poets.org has it: “At that intersection of love and language is poetry. Naomi Shihab Nye urges us to ‘remember …