Best
Practices for Teaching Early Reading Skills Through the First
Four Stages of the Reading Process
Reading starts at a young age.
Some research indicates that one of the best practices for
teaching early reading skills is to read to your child while
he is still in the womb. This helps improve his interest in
books after he is born. In fact, many parents report that
their child responds more favorably to those books that were
read to him before he was born.
If books haven’t been introduced
before the child is born, they certainly should be as soon as
possible after birth. Cloth books are available for children
to play with before they are even able to speak.
Another of the best practices for
teaching early reading skills is to give these “books” to your
child. This will help foster a positive relationship with
books. In addition, you should read these books, and others,
to your child, even while she is a baby.
Listening to the rhythm of your
voice, the special inflection you use while reading, and
witnessing your enthusiasm for books will go a long way with
your child, no matter her age.
But, getting your child to the
first of the stages of the reading process requires more than
just reading to him.
To truly prepare your child for
this stage, you need to talk about the pictures in the books,
not just the words. This can be done before your child is even
able to speak herself.
Therefore, another of the best
practices for teaching early reading skills is to point to
pictures and say things such as, “This is a yellow duck. This
is a little boy. This is a red umbrella.” Over time, your
child will begin to tell you what the pictures are herself.
Once she can do this, she has mastered the first of the 7
stages of the reading process.
Acting as a role model is, by
far, one of the best practices of teaching early reading
skills. To do this, show enthusiasm as you begin to talk about
the pictures in a book and what the pictures have to do with
each other.
For example, you might say, “The
boy is carrying his pet duck. He is also carrying an umbrella
because it is raining.”
Encourage your child to tell you
what he sees in the story, too. When he can do this
successfully, he is ready to move on to the third of the
stages of the reading process.
For excellent picture books that
are sure to capture your child’s imagination and encourage
storytelling through pictures, choose from a list of Caldecott
winners or, choose books with cartoon characters your child
enjoys.
At the third of the stages of the
reading process, your child should begin using “storyteller”
language. This means that he will begin saying things such as
“Once upon a time, a little boy carried a duck. He also
carried an umbrella because it was raining.”
To move on to the fourth stage of
the reading process, your child needs to be able to connect
pictures from one page to the next to tell a story. He should
also be able to improve upon his storyteller skills.
For example, he might say, “Once
upon a time, a little boy went for a walk with his duck. He
also carried an umbrella because it was raining outside.”
(Turn the page) “Suddenly, the rain stopped coming down.”
(Turn the page) “This made the boy very happy. He and his pet
duck played in a mud puddle.”
To help your child achieve the third and the fourth stages of
the reading process, you should, obviously, read the words in
the book to your child.
One of the best practices for teaching early reading skills,
however, is to also make up stories with your child using
pictures from the book. Encourage him to make up his own
stories, as well. You can even take turns making up portions
of the story until an entire story has been completed from
beginning to end.
The more he hears you tell stories using story language, the
more he will begin to understand how to do this himself. You
shouldn’t, however, necessarily correct him and instruct him
to use story language.
At this point, your goal is to help your child gain a love for
reading. In addition, you want him to see reading together as
a special time he spends with you, not as work or as a chore.
During these two stages of the reading process, it is also a
good idea to begin introducing the relationships between
letters and sounds to your child.
The Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read program is an excellent
program for helping to teach your child reading skills. This
program combines many of the best practices for teaching early
reading skills into one comprehensive reading program. In
addition, with 10 CD’s, 30 storybooks, 10 companion books, 10
chapter books and 5 workbooks, this program contains enough
materials to help guide your child through all of the stages
of the reading process. Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read helps your younger child grasp essential reading skills!
Click here to learn more.
Using each of the best practices for teaching early reading
skills with your child from the time he is born and throughout
elementary school will ensure that your child becomes a
strong, competent reader who will find great success in
school.
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