How to teach reading to young children

How can we help our children to read is the question most parents often ask school teachers. Reading is an essential skill and plays a vital role in academic success and towards their development into adulthood. A recent study shows that 7-year-olds excel at a much greater rate once mastering the skill of reading.

Here at Tiny Champions, we have 4 effective and practical recommendations of helping preschoolers learning to read.

Get your child familiar with reading as early as possible.

Get your child familiar with books. Many parents believe that it is harmful to teach children at an early age and that introducing literature is an absolute no-no. Remember, children are learning every single day, therefore, learning a little bit of literature is no harm at all. it is important that you get your child used to books even if it is just a picture book. Today we live in a digital society where books are becoming more and more hard to come by. There are hundreds of studies that show that children engage well with books and helps to expand the imagination.

Read to your child.

I know a lot of parents already know this one but I’m going to put it in any way. Reading to your child as often as possible is like the chicken soup of reading education and the beginning of its foundation. Try different activities like reading together at the same time or role-playing characters in the storybook as you read. Remember to have fun with it because reading is a very enjoyable skill to have and your preschoolers will absolutely love it. However, for parents that can’t read English, I suggest alternatives like audiobooks. Research shows that children from as young as 9 months reap the benefits and rewards of being read to at a very young age.

Have your kids tell you a story

Now let your kids be the author. Let them have a go at telling you a story. Tell them to fly to an imaginary world to bring their story to light. don’t worry if the story that they’re telling you is not a rival to a Charles Dickens novel. it could be short and simple. like “I went to school, I saw a frog, I went home.” write it exactly like how it is being told. Then read it aloud while pointing to the words. overtime with a lot of reading do not be surprised if your child starts recognising small words like it or was. As your child begins to learn new words you can I advise writing the words on a card installing them as a word bank in order for your child to review them later.

Teach your child phonics

studies show that teaching phonics to children is a crucial skill towards learning to read. By your child learning and getting familiar with sounding letters, phonics will help their reading development. As your child’s learning develops try them on sounding two 2,3 or even 4 letters together use letters that will sound a word. There are many flashcards games you can purchase on the Amazon marketplace.