5 Tips to Help Your Child Learn to Read

Teaching children to read can be a complex task. Here are five simple tips to help you in the process.

1. Word enriched environment. Playing with magnetic letters is a great way to start. You can also add name labels to objects around the house. When I worked in the classroom, I use to label shelves and objects using sentence strips. I would neatly print the word, such as Blocks. Put a picture of the blocks next to the word and tape it to the shelf where the blocks were using clear contact paper so it would be easy to remove. When it was time to clean up, kids would know where to put items by looking at the picture and I would point and read out the word to them from left to right, "Blocks." This gives kids great exposure to written words.

2. Have fun with nursery rhymes and songs to help children with phonological awareness. Phonics are the back bone to reading. Rhymes and rhythms, help children hear the sounds and syllables in words which helps with literacy skills. Print out a nursery rhyme and read it together. Be sure to point to the words as you read from left to right. Have a discussion about what the rhyme says and means. Engaging in conversation helps children with social emotional skills, vocabulary, confidence, reading comprehension and literacy.

3. Read, Read, Read in various environments. The more a child is exposed to something the better they are at picking it up. Be sure to have your child read or being read to as often as possible. Kids should be engaged with books daily. Also encourage reading in various environment. For example, when you take your child out to a restaurant, show them the menu. Point out simple words and help them identify the letter sounds. Ex: Kids Menu. You may point to the word kids, and ask, what sound does the K make. Begin to blend the sounds and make sure they understand. This is telling us that we have the Kids Menu. Be sure to give simple definitions so they can gain understanding of vocabulary. "A menu tells us what kinds of food this place makes so we can pick what we want to eat."

4. Play with Word Cards. Have cards with a word on front and the object on back. The idea is for the child is to be able to sound out the word without relying on the picture clue. In black and white, the word can say Cat. Have the child sound out each letter to put together the word. They can see if it is correct by looking at the picture on the back.

5. Make story time fun and engaging. Many kids may find reading rather boring, but it doesn't have to be. Find simple books with topics that interest them. If you have a child who loves dinosaurs, then find books about dinosaurs. Using different voices, props and engaging the child in conversation about the story can help build their interest and develop a love for reading.

Bonus: Avoid teaching letters in isolation, we don't read that way and kids don't learn that way. Get rid of the letter of the week, and instead, have child learn to identify the letters in his or her name. Kids are not interested in learning things that don't seem relevant or hold value to them. Their name has value and relevance, so teach them the letters in it first. Then you can add other value names such as mom, dad, sister, brother, cat (if they have cat) etc. They can even learn the letters in their family members names.

I hope you found these tips helpful. Enjoy spending time with your child above all else. Kids grow quickly, so its important to cherish every moment.

Aerika D. Lewis B.A., M.A.