How to teach a child to read: where to start?

Today, many parents are very eager to homeschool their kids. Since the quarantine period began I have been seeing posts from moms and dads that are trying to impart learning on their kids and one of the most sought skills is how to teach your child to read. I also have read messages from friends on facebook asking me how I do it. This time, I’m sharing with you some tips that could help you be reading ready.

First, we have to identify pre reading behaviors. We cannot teach a child who’s not yet ready because their readiness to learn comes in different phase. For example, their eagerness to read books will give you a hint that he’s up to learning. This is what I noticed with my son when he turned 3years old. He would always grab a book and ask me to read for him and when there are photos that he doesn’t understand he would point at it and ask me, “what’s this?” The curiosity in him would trigger a signal for learning.

My eldest son doing his best to teach his sibling his love for books.

Second, we have to start with the basics. Let your kids master the ALPHABETS. This is the very basic skill that they have to master before jumping into reading words. Make sure you use materials that would catch their curiosity. There are many ways to make them enjoy learning the alphabet. You can make use of songs, videos, cartoons, books, alphabet sensory toys and many more.

Third, when they already have mastered the alphabets you can now introduce them into vowel and consonant sounds. This is one of the most important skills that they should not miss. Take time and enjoy each second of teaching them this lesson because its important that they get along well with the sounds so it would be easier for them to read blended words or cvc words. One way that i taught this to my son was with the use of picture matching activities. By listening to the first sound of the word, he’s able to grasp the lesson better.

(credits to the owner of the worksheeT) i just had this worksheet printed from the internet

Lastly, when your kid has fully understood the different vowel and consonant sounds you may now move on teaching him with Cvc words family and sights words. Take it one step at a time as there are many kinds of cvc words. You may start with the -at, -am, -ad, -ar, -ag words and more. The words can be overwhelming for your kid so make sure to use different teaching materials (word writing, word matching, watching cvc words on youtube, etc. ) and incorporate fum while learning!

Sometimes, i let my son do role playing. He acts like a teacher and read the words for me 🙂

Please note that reading skill is a continuous process just like learning. It doesn’t just happen over night. So make sure to incorporate to your kids the love for learning so they may always be a passionate learner.