Learning to read requires the presence of certain skills, such as perseverance, attentiveness and susceptibility to speech. If 20 years ago children learned to read only in the first grade, now parents are in a hurry to boast that my child has been reading since the age of three. Meanwhile, studies show that early reading does not guarantee that a child will be smarter than his peers.
When to teach your child to read
You can start from the age of three if you are interested. For example, the kid asks what the letter is called or what is written on the package. But don’t expect too much – forgetting what was taught yesterday is completely normal for him. At four years old, a child can name about a dozen letters from memory, and at five years old, know half the alphabet. To understand that the child is ready for learning, you can use the following indicators:
- interested in print media
- when mom reads a book, is diligent for 15 minutes
- interested in the outside world, asks a lot of questions
- watches with interest how the older brother / sister does the lessons
- striving for independence
- holding a pencil correctly
- speaks in full sentences
How to teach a child to read – preparation
Approximately six months before the start of training, start reading books every day for at least 20 minutes for five years. Daily perception of information by ear trains memory, attention and imagination, in addition, there is an interest in books. Ask questions about the information received: how events will develop, which characters you like best, which of the characters did the right thing. This is a great way to understand how attentive a preschooler is and of course, to instill the skill of understanding what was heard. The third step of preparation is a personal example – read magazines, a cookbook or newspaper, the main thing is that the child sees this. Reading books by the father is especially important if you plan to educate the boy. The last stage concerns the choice of a suitable method, taking into account the temperament and hobbies of the student. It is not necessary to choose a standard primer or other ready-made methods,
Game example:
- drawing on the sand, soap suds while swimming
- assigning a letter to a typewriter by gluing, and then, the typewriters “meet” to form a syllable. For the same purpose, large blocks of the designer are suitable.
- laying out the letter with pebbles, sticks, multi-colored paper clips
- searching for letters in the environment
How to teach a child to read and not disgust books
Introduce the baby to short sounds, for example, read not “em”, but “m”, etc. This is the easiest way to speed up the understanding of the connection in syllables. Use not ready-made cards and books, but play visual perception with the baby – draw, sculpt, cut out. Thus, even a three-year-old baby will quickly remember the shape and sound. The number of new sounds per day is no more than two, otherwise the child will get confused. First, you learn all the vowels, the duration of the lesson is five minutes for each sound during the day and five minutes in the evening. In general, class time per day should not exceed 20 minutes, the duration can be reduced to 10 minutes if the child is under five years old. The first day you get acquainted with vowels, and on the second day you try to “fold” (ao, ui, ea). On the third, two more sounds are added. On the fourth, you collect everything you have learned and compose syllables.
Teach your child to see things through to the end and not to stop in front of difficulties if they arise. This skill is very useful in school.
After you have taught your child the vowels, divide their repetition into three days. The consonants are added one at a time, each new element of the alphabet must be combined with all the vowels, which can take several days. The first consonants should be well voiced by the child, those that the baby does not yet pronounce very well are adjusted to the very last turn. When the child masters the alphabet and begins to read syllables of two or three sounds, teach him to play rhymes by making funny combinations of letters (top-mop, son-min, ting-lin). Thanks to this positive approach, the game will become an interesting way to consolidate the skill.
The last stage is the full reading of short fairy tales. To do this, children’s books are purchased with large print, where the text is already divided into syllables. Another option is division on your own, it is advisable to perform this action together with the child so that he understands how many syllables are in the word and how it is formed. When the child begins to read independently, try to teach to divide the text into genres. It can be fairy tales, stories, poems, fantasy, adventures. What for? In addition to memorizing the text, the child learns to generalize and compare information, which favorably affects the development of logic.
Recommended: what to do if the child does not like to read
How to teach a child to read without nerves? Include as many positive emotions as possible, so memorization will go easier, and reading will become a favorite pastime. If you notice that your student does not want to learn to read, do not get upset and do not force him. There are children who master reading a few months before school. Remember that the most important thing for a preschooler is communication and physical activity, which, unfortunately, he will be deprived of when he goes to first grade.