I need help teaching my child to read. Any suggestions?
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
United States
November 4, 2007 4:09pm CST
My little kid is at the age, where she is starting to show an interest in reading. She likes to look at books and pretend that she is reading. And, often makes up her own sentences as if she is really reading. I'd love for her to be able to read by the time she gets into kindergarten, but I'm not sure where to start.
Last year, we purchased some Reader Rabbit CD-ROMS that are supposed to help young children develop reading skills. And, even though she plays them constantly, she still hasn't made the connection between the game and actual books that she should read. They don't seem to be working.
When we read books together, I try to point out the words and tell her what they mean. Sometimes she will repeat the words back to me. And, we practice word spelling at other times when we're not reading with her magnetic alphabet letters. But, that's just the start. I know that she will need more practice actually reading.
Does anyone have tips on how to teach a young child to read books? Should I read a sentence and then have her try to repeat it? What are the best techniques for building real reading skills? Would appreciate suggestions.
1 person likes this
9 responses
@ersmommy1 (12588)
• United States
4 Nov 07
You might try The LeapFrog Letter factory Dvd it's a phonics movie, and it got my daughter started. Also she watches In Between the Lions constantly its all about reading. A trick I read about put you tv on closed captioning some of the words may be absorbed that way.
Something we are doing is putting labels on the house, chair, tv,door, etc. Give it a shot.My daughter is 4
@wmaharper (2316)
• United States
5 Nov 07
That Dvd is great. My son recieved it for his 3rd birthday a couple of months ago, he learned what sound each letter makes, and is learning to write them currently. We have begun to help him sound out small words like cat, and hat etc. and he understands it. The dvd is great, b/c it presents the sounds of the letters in a fun and easy to understand way. My son remembers all of the sounds already. I would also look into any hooked on phonics stuff.. as learning to read phonetically is really the best way to do it. Good luck!
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
5 Nov 07
i think your best bet is to visit the library. that is the best place to get reading helps in my opinion. they have an easy to read section where you can get a variety of books taht will spark her interest. some libraries also carry games that are educational, also, have you tried looking on the internet for reading games?
@shoelover (896)
• Australia
5 Nov 07
Hi Beautyqueen26. With all my children I started teaching them when they were about 2 years old. I would read them a story for bed and some of the books where alphabet books. I would say the letter and they would tell me what started with that letter. A for Apple things like that. Once they get the basics of that you can go to more advanced things like C A T cat and do a see and spell time. The old EasyReader books used to be great but since they've been banned due to name references I am sure there are other books around like that. The one I liked best was Catch that Fly.
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
5 Nov 07
reader rabbit helped my son tremendously.
How old is your daughter.
Start with rhyming words - hat, cat, rat, sat, at etc.
Make sure that she understands phonics - the sounds that each letter can make.
She may be to young to make all of the connections right away, but if she knows the individual sounds and letters, once she starts reading she will probably fly through.
@Molinda (77)
• China
5 Nov 07
My nephew is at the age too.I think the most impotant thing you should do during this time is to develop their interest in reading.I buy the cartoon card with the words for my nephew.at the begaining,he think it is a toy and play it everyday,i play with him too.i read the word when i pick up a card,and imitate the animal on the card in the meantime.he is very interested it ,after few days.he can read evey word on the card.besides,when he look at the other books ,he often read loudly although i can't understand what he say.you can try it .it maybe helpful to you .
@ganga472007 (624)
• India
5 Nov 07
I hope your girl may be below three years. If I am correct, you may use coventional way of teaching. Mother is the best teacher of the world. you teach her by reading a sentence and ask her to repeat it.Always a baby loves to learn from her mother, who has full of love and affection to her.
@8ctavarium (552)
• Australia
5 Nov 07
I think just going over a sentence at a time makes it really easy to learn, after all little kids tend to remember what they hear better than from trying to read.Perhaps, sticking with picture books are a great way to learn, as you learn how to pronounce all those key words. Once that is done, sentence by sentence is the way to go. But the key is to always be patient, and try to make it enjoyable too so your kids will be encourage to keep reading and keep trying even if they are doing it wrongly.
@williamjisir (22819)
• China
5 Nov 07
Hello beauty queen. To a small kid, I think that it is a good idea to buy her some children's books with lots of pictures and some words with them. This way it is easier to teach the kids to help improve their reading and imitation. You know, kids are very good at imitating and can always learn things very fast. Thanks for your discussion.
@delladidit (466)
• United States
4 Nov 07
...Does she know all of the alphebet? Does she know what sound each letter can make? This is where you must start.
...Reading to her and pointing to each word as you say it is one of the best ways to teach reading, that I know of. The more you read together the better. Repeat the book and have her read with you. As she learns words, stop reading, point to the word and see if she can read it herself.
...The biggest help is practice.
...Let her make up her own story for each picture is great for creativity and imagination. Encourage this behavior.
...Good for her! Enjoying reading is half the battle to learning how to read.
...Peace be with you. =(^;^)= Della
