When it comes to teaching children to read, there is an overwhelming amount of information and countless “learning to read” programs available. Some of these learning to read programs are based on phonics, and others are based on whole language (look and say) method of teaching reading. In fact, there is one such program that allows to teach your children to read at just 2 years old – Children Learning Reading program.
The most basic elements of the English language are the alphabet letters and phonemes. Phonemes are the smallest units of sound that make up to form a word. In this case, you’re teaching your child not just the letter names, but also the sounds of the letters as well. For example:
Letter A makes the AH sound
Letter B makes the BUH sound
Letter C makes the CUH sound, and so on…
Studies have found that teaching letter sounds and letter names together produces better results than teaching either of these separately. So when you teach phonics to your children, make sure to teach both letter name and sound together.
When children are learning to read with phonics, you can always teach them final consonant blends first. For example, words such as “at” can help lead your child directly to learning reading words that rhyme with “at”. For example, once your child has learned “at”, they can learn words that rhyme with it fairly easily such as:
Bat
Cat
Fat
Mat
Sat
When teaching your child to read, sit with them, and ask them to first sound out the letters, and then put the letters together slowly to say the full words. You should always encourage your child to try, and never criticize them for making mistakes. When children feel that they’re not being judged for making mistakes, they will be more inclined to try and make an effort.
Once your child has mastered enough letter names, letter sounds, and blending, you can start making some very simple sentences for your child to read, and eventually have your child reading stories and rhymes. However, learning to read with children is not a simple or a quick process, and it will require plenty of patience and effort. And you must always be consistent with your lessons. Aim to spend several minutes a day consistently teaching your child, instead of trying to spend 30 or 45 minutes spaced out several days apart.
This is a fairly basic guide for learning to read with children. Don’t feel overwhelmed by the phonics and reading information available out there. We suggest Children Learning Reading program. As you can read through Children Learning Reading reviews, it is a highly effective, but very simple program that will greatly help you teach your children become fluent a reader.