5 teacher tips on how to teach your child to read books

In the book of a modern Russian writer Alexey Polyarinov “Center of gravity” there is such a scene: parents and their two sons are sitting at a table in the kitchen, the youngest of whom is 4 years old. And suddenly he asks what the word “tour operator” means. The adults thought that he heard this word somewhere, but it turned out that the kid himself read it on the leaflet attached to the refrigerator.

It happens that children themselves begin to read, and at a very early age, and there can be many reasons for this. Perhaps, since childhood, parents read aloud to the child a lot, and it was easier for him to combine words with sounds.

But such children are rather an exception to the rule and you should not be upset if your child has not started reading on his own.

See also: 6 childhood psychological traumas that cripple the psyche

At what age can you start teaching your child to read?

Parents should answer this question themselves based on the preferences of their child.

You can start at 2, 3 or 4 years old, but only if the child himself reaches for the book and asks to show him the letters.

Just like that, of your own free will, you don’t need to pull the child out of the sandbox and put him at the alphabet! If there is a desire, the correct technique will help.

Where to start learning to read?

You should always start small. The following recommendations will help you understand where to start learning to read and what to pay attention to.

You may be interested in: How to protect a child from abduction – 4 advice from a teacher to parents

1. Learning letters is not necessarily strictly alphabetical.

It is easier for a child to remember the pronunciation of vowels (a, o, e, y, and others).

After that, you can go to the most common letters, with which you can add quite a lot of syllables and words (m, n, l, s, v, k, sh, etc.), and only then remember all the rest.

2. Only sounds!

When learning consonant letters, it is important to tell the child exactly the sound that this letter stands for, and not the name of the letter in the alphabet. For example, not “em” or “me”, but [м]; not “she” or “sha”, but [ш]; not “re” or “er”, but [р] etc.

3. Learn by playing

In order for the child to more easily and firmly remember the letters, it is useful to use as many senses as possible.

This means that during classes the child should:

• hear the sound corresponding to the letter;
• see the letter
• construct the letter being studied from wire, rope, plasticine, pencils, etc.

Very useful games with “rough” letters (cut out of sandpaper or velvet paper).

First, ask your child to trace the letter with their finger as it is written. Then – learn the studied letters by touch with your eyes closed.

The game is also interesting and useful when studying letters and teaching reading – when an adult “draws” individual letters on the child’s back with his finger, and the child guesses them.

4. The next step is to read by syllables

To teach your child to read by syllables, start learning syllables that begin with vowels first, such as am, em, um, he, from, etc. It will be easier for the child to start with these syllables, and then move on to other syllables.

5. And the last but the most important point

Learning to read is a very complex process that requires a lot of patience and enough time for both the child and the adult. Be patient and be sure to praise when your child begins to put letters into syllables and then into words.

Memo to parents

Read constantly. Introduce your children to the world of literature from the first days of their lives. Move from plain books with bright pictures to more serious works.

Read fairy tales at night and on the road, replace them with cartoons and computer games.

If your children are already adults, take them to specialty stores, buy new volumes together. Let the child see that mom and dad are also reading – nothing promotes interest more than parental example.

Read aloud. Record a minute and count how many words the child managed to read during this time. Arrange a competition if he has brothers or sisters.

For each improvement in the result, give a small present:

• a new set of markers;
• coloring book;
• a book;
• something tasty.

As an encouragement, an increase in “computer” time or exemption from homework (not walking the dog today, not washing the dishes) can act.

Repeat. The kid will forget that the letter “s” has already been, if you do not periodically remember about it. Regularly conduct small test work in the form of a game.

Before the class starts, ask your student to tell what happened in the last lesson.

Learn everywhere. On the way to the kindergarten, read signs, remember the names of fairy-tale characters, the name of plants, food or animals with the letter that you recently learned, draw syllables with a stick on the sand or earth.

What not to do when learning to read?

In no case should you scold a child. If something doesn’t work out, it’s your failure in the first place, which means you are using some kind of wrong teaching method.

Not only has the child already spent a lot of time and effort trying to listen to your explanations, but he also flew in for it! Next time, he won’t want to study, no matter how they wave the primer in front of him.

You can not deprive the child of the feeling of academic success. If he managed to remember a letter or read a syllable, you should not take it for granted.

It is very difficult for a kid, he did a great job, respect the work of your child. If he succeeded, praise him!