ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How to Teach a Child to Read: Tips from A Literacy Coach

Updated on July 6, 2012

The importance of reading aloud: Tips for reading to children

I posed a question to parents and asked them what their best tip is for helping children learn to read. The overwhelming response was read, read, read to them! There was also a consensus to start when they are babies and continue this practice throughout their school career. As a literacy coach I could not agree more! Reading to children is probably the most important thing you can do to support reading success. When children can listen to an adult read a story they are relieved of the pressure to perform. It frees them up to focus on all the new knowledge and information provided in the reading experience.This helps children discover the purpose of reading and the importance of comprehension. Reading to children supports the development of oral vocabulary and communication skills, which are critical for success. When children listen to stories it also opens the door to valuable opportunities for instruction. The following are tips for how to teach children to read and ensure they get the best start possible.

Start Reading Early to Children

Parents can start reading to children as soon as they are born. Simple poems and rhythmic stories are beneficial for babies because it exposes them to intonation and sound patterns in language. As children get older. reading to them builds knowledge, vocabulary, oral communication and listening skills. When children have strong vocabulary and an awareness of the structure in language, they are going to have a much easier time learning to read. Research shows that reading aloud to children provides a powerful context for discovering new words and for learning about language. For older children it provides them with awareness of more complex vocabulary and syntax, which equips them to tackle more difficult texts in their own reading.

Support Oral Language Development

Another piece of the puzzle for teaching reading is helping children expand oral vocabulary and communication skills in conversation. Before children are ready to start talking parents should model oral language. It is important to pronounce words clearly and make meaningful connections when introducing new vocabulary. Try not to mimic baby talk. It does not help! When children begin talking it is useful to build their oral communication by modeling reflective statements. For example, when a child speaks a few words i.e. cat bite me! it creates a good opportunity to reply with a question that validates their expression i.e. Did you say that the cat bit you? Are you hurt? You might also make a statement i.e. There was a time when a cat bit me also. The important thing is to model correct syntax and help children expand their vocabulary and expression. Just because a toddler is speaking in three words does not mean that we should be speaking that way to them.

Talk About the Story

A super important tip for helping children learn to read is taking time to reflect on the content in stories. Simple questions that get children thinking about the story will improve comprehension and will also help to engage them in the reading process. A helpful strategy is to have a "stop and think" several times throughout the story. Encourage children to express their thoughts, ideas, opinions, their questions. This sort of conversation will also help them develop oral communication skills and will guide them to be critical thinkers.

Make Learning About Phonics Meaningful and Fun!

When children are ready to begin learning about letters and phonics it is useful to provide quick lessons in your reading sessions together. Point out examples of letters and words in books children are familiar with. For instance, if the child has a favourite story that has been read to them many times, it can be used to help with learning about words and letters. To practice, cover up a word they know in the story and ask them to say the letters they think are in the word. It is important to note that children should not be expected to say all the letters of the word. Start by asking what they think the first letter or last letter of the word is. To help with phonemic awareness ensure children first say the word slowly to themselves, to hear the sounds before they try to guess the letters. Using familiar books provides a meaningful context, that makes new learning easier to understand and remember. It is also beneficial to practice and learn about letters and print in the form of games. Games motivate children and will help to keep their interest.

In Summary

Reading to children is very important for creating a foundation of knowledge, that children can draw in their own reading development. It is the number one tip for supporting children and should be started early and continued long after they can read on their own. It helps build vocabulary, oral communication, and thinking skills. More importantly, it also provides quality time with your child, which will motivate their interest in learning to read, and set them up for success in reading.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)