Teaching your kids to read is something that can seem like it is taking forever. You want them to be fluent from the get-go, but it’s a process that can take many years in some cases.
Fortunately, that’s where this guide can help. We run through what works, and what doesn’t when it comes to increasing your child’s reading age. By the end of this post, you should feel far more confident about sitting down with them, book in hand.
So, what should you be doing as a parent?
Read Aloud Daily
The first step is to read aloud daily. Reading introduces your child to more language patterns and vocabulary than they might get through regular conversation. It also makes communication more intentional and deliberate, fostering concentration.
You can read aloud by choosing age-appropriate books with plenty of interesting plot twists and expressions. These keep children interested because they want to know what will happen next.
If you can allow your child to pick books that pique their interest, that’s even better.
Get Them Used To Sounds
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If you can raise your child’s phonemic awareness of short vowel sounds, that’s even better. Drilling them into their minds helps them understand how words written on the page actually sound when they say them out loud, allowing them to connect text with oral language.
Most children learn language by listening to chunks of phrases and then figuring out how to stitch them all together. However, this process won’t improve their reading skills unless they have more phenomic awareness.
If you can turn the process of learning specific sounds into a game, that’s even better. Rhyming games, singing songs, and practice sounds, like C-A-T can be fun and get them used to the concept. While learning the alphabet might seem like a dull task for an adult, children pick it up naturally and quickly, even if they only learn a few letters a day. Usually, it takes around two weeks to a month to master, and from there, kids can start putting sounds together and figuring out words for themselves.
Use Sight Words
Another tactic is to use “sight words.” These are words that appear frequently in the English language (and texts) and can be memorized rote for ease.
For example, the word “and” should be a sight word because it appears as a conjunction in text all the time. The same goes for “the” and “is”. These words simply add to the structure of the language.
Sight words shouldn’t include much longer phrases that children may not have encountered before. These are better learned by breaking them down into parts, saying the sounds out loud, and then putting them all back together again.
Use Storytelling
Another pro tactic is to use storytelling to build comprehension. Kids are more likely to understand words and what they mean if they appear in context.
Many children’s books build up this context carefully and deliberately, making understanding more straightforward. The more you can discuss a story with your child, the more likely they are to understand it and figure out what comes next.
If you can ask your child about why things are happening in the plot, that can improve their thinking skills further. Stories can be a great way to learn more about how the world works and their place in it. It also just makes the task of reading more interesting, since there’s always something to look forward to in the plot.
Be Patient
Of course, throughout this process, you want to be patient. Children can take time to learn how to read and consign everything to their unconscious minds.
Start with positive reinforcement that builds confidence over time. Tell them when they get things right to encourage them to persist and keep trying. While it can be frustrating for a lot of children, it is also something that can be highly rewarding once they get it right.
Try to praise specific achievements, not their abilities in general. Focusing on immediate small rewards keeps them focused on persevering through challenges. For example, you could congratulate them when they recognise a new work in the text or get to the end of a book.
If you can avoid correcting the mistake unless absolutely necessary, that can also help. Children do best when they think for themselves the proper way to say something.
Focus on one mistake at a time and don’t pressure kids to get everything right. Allow them to have some fun reading and enjoying their skills before steering them toward saying a particular word right. For example, a lot of young readers struggle with the word “George,” which actually appears as a name quite often in children’s books. Correcting them only after they get other elements of sentences right is usually the best strategy.
Add More Printouts To Your Home
Thinking outside of the box, you could also add more printouts to your home. These are handy because they reinforce the connection to reading in your household.
The way to do this is simple: just label household items so that they can connect words to everyday objects. You can also use signs in the home or encourage them to read maps or use a series of instructions when you go on a day trip.
Model Reading
Finally, you can help your child to read by modelling the sort of behavior you’d like to see them display. When children see their parents sifting through magazines and books, it encourages them to mimic their behavior and do the same.
If you’re an educated person, this step should be simple. All you need to do is read books and newspapers in front of your child and then they will feel the incentive to do the same.
If you can read recipes in front of them, then that’s a bonus too. Even small things like this can have a profound effect on their desire to read.
So there you have it: some of the things you can do to encourage your child to read.
