Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Teaching Reading - 3 Simple Ways To Teach Your Child To Read

We all know that learning to read is an important part of growing up for a child. Learning to read is also essential to future success both in school and in life. Older children and adults who struggle with reading will struggle in the future in terms of both professional prospects as well as personal life. Reading is quite simply a part of every day modern life. While we all know that helping our children learn to read is important, many parents struggle with what they can do as non-educators to teach children to read. There are three simple ways you can teach your child to read - expose them to the world of literacy, read to them, and give them the tools they need to become literate.

It is important to expose children to the world of literacy from a very young age. This means demonstrating on a daily basis how important reading is by sharing the various ways the written word is a part of daily modern life from street signs to food labels to printed literature. It is also important to teach young children how print works, such as the fact we read from left to right and top to bottom. Readers know this is the way literature works but non-readers need to be taught. You should also make sure your child has reading material available that is suitable and age appropriate. You can either provide your child with a library of their own or if money is tight then make sure they have a library card and visit regularly. Exposing your child to the world of literacy from a young age is an important part of teaching reading.

Reading to your child is the most important part of helping your child become a reader. Teaching reading involves teaching children to love reading. The more fun your child has with books from an early age then the more interested they will be when they reach school age in becoming a reader. Reading to your child also improves your child's emergent literacy skills including vocabulary, knowledge, and print awareness such as how a book works. Reading to your child on a regular basis gives your pre-reader a jumpstart in learning to read and continuing to read to your child even after they learn to read helps improve their vocabulary and reading skills.

Giving your child the tools they need to become literate is also important. Some parents handicap their children's efforts to learn to read by not helping them master the alphabet and beginning letter sounds before school begins. Other parents discourage learning to read by not providing age-appropriate reading material. If there are no books or magazines in the house to read then how can a child learn to read? Still other parents do not speak properly to their children, perhaps using baby talk, to encourage the development of vocabulary and grammar skills. You can be involved in helping your child learn to read by giving your child the tools they need to become literate.

If you follow these three simple steps you can teach your child to read. Teaching reading is as simple as exposing them to the world of literacy, reading to them, and giving them the tools they need to become literate.

You can find more information about learning to read books and how to teach reading programs at http://learningtoreadthroughrhyme.com/ and http://learningtoreadthroughrhyme.info/

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Advice For Learning The Alphabet Letters

Giving your child assistance with learning the alphabet letters is an important part of preparing your child for school and reading. The alphabetic principle is the foundation for literacy. Mastering alphabet letters is a key element of the process of learning to read. Learning the alphabet letters teaches children that spoken language is represented by written words that are made up of varying combinations of letters. In order to become literate, children must learn that these letters and combinations of them make up all of the sounds in spoken language. Attaching sounds to these letters and learning to write them paves the way to successful reading and writing which then leads to further success in school and life. Children who have no help learning the alphabet letters before school begins start their education process behind their peers -- and some children will never be able to catch up. You certainly do not want your child to start school at the back of the class.

Find puzzles that have the alphabet in order.

Try Alphabits Cereal for breakfast and name the letters.

Talk about the shapes of the letters and if the upper and lower case are the same or different. Play matching games, same or different, or alphabet bingo.

It is not enough to simply teach your child the letters of the alphabet in order. Children also must learn the letters of the alphabet out of sequence as well as in sequence. Children should be able to recognize the shape and sound of each letter as well as words that commonly begin with that letter. Once your child has this mastered then they are on the road to becoming a reader! If you do not help your child with learning the alphabet letters before they reach school then you are failing your child.

Uncover more about learning the alphabet letters at http://teachyourchildthealphabet.com/

Monday, November 12, 2007

15 Tips For Helping Children With Learning The Alphabet Letters

I volunteer four hours a week in my son's first grade classroom. I help out in a variety of ways but primarily I am involved in literacy activities. It is an exciting time in a child's literacy life as this is the year that emergent readers become full-fledged readers.

While they will continue to spend elementary school increasing their site words and vocabulary, there is a point during this year when most children can pick up a book at their reading level and read it from start to finish with their own knowledge and decoding skills. For some children, that point arrives early in the school year and others reach it at various points in the year.

However there are a handful of children in every first grade classroom who will not reach that point this year. These children still do not possess the basic literacy skills and techniques they need to become readers. They do not know their alphabet letters let alone the sounds that each letter represents in words. This lack of knowledge holds them back both in reading and in writing.

While the other children can write fluent sentences using their growing vocabularies as well as phonetic spelling based on their knowledge of the alphabetic principle, the children who do not yet know the alphabet fall further and further behind their peers every day.

As the parent of a preschooler, you have to ask yourself. Which group do you want your child to fall within? Unless you want your child to be behind in literacy by first grade then you must make sure your child has mastered the alphabet before starting kindergarten. Here are 15 tips to help you get started teaching your child their alphabet letters.

Tip 1 - Introduce the letter by finding a word or a name that is meaningful to your child. Example: B: ball

Tip 2 - Point to the letter on an Alphabet Chart (you can make one easily using the "Chunky Letters" coloring sheets) so your child can see where the letter is in the alphabet. The chart can be a learning tool to help your child visualize what the alphabet looks like.

Tip 3 - Sing the Alphabet Song and stop at that letter for the child to sing alone.

Tip 4 - Model the correct formation of the letter and have your child trace the letter in salt, sand, gel, fingerpaint, pudding, or shaving cream .

Tip 5 - Model the correct formation of the letter and have your child print the letter with a paintbrush, marker, crayon, chalk, q-tip, pencil, magic slate, or pen.

Tip 6 - Purchase magnetic letters to place on the refrigerator or cookie sheets to display the letter of the week.

Tip 7 - Point out the letter on signs and in books.

Tip 8 - Use playdough to roll out and make the letter or a toothpick to write the letter on the playdough.

Tip 9 - Talk about the shapes of the letters and if the upper and lower case are the same or different. Play matching games, same or different, or alphabet bingo.

Tip 10 - Take your finger and trace the letters on the palm of the hand or on your child's back.

Tip 11 - Practice using sticky notes and label objects in the house that begin with the letter.

Tip 12 - Alphabet Stamps are a practical investment for having fun with the alphabet for alphabet recognition, making words, and spelling.

Tip 13 - Eating the alphabet can be a delicious way to reinforce letters using vegetables, pretzels, potato sticks, and candy to form the letters.

Tip 14 - Decorate cupcakes, cakes or cookies using frosting tubes to print letters. Squeeze mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, or jelly letters out of containers to enhance your food. If your not hungry place inside a ziploc bag and practice printing letters on the outside of the bag.

Tip 15 - Try Alphabits Cereal for breakfast and name the letters.

Learn more about other preschool lessons and learning the alphabet letters at http://teachyourpreschooler.com/

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Learning The Alphabet Letters Help For Parents Of Preschoolers

There is a simple reason that you need to help your child with learning the alphabet letters. The alphabetic principle is the foundation for literacy. Mastering alphabet letters is a key element of the process of learning to read. Learning the alphabet letters teaches children that spoken language is represented by written words that are made up of varying combinations of letters. In order to become literate, children must learn that these letters and combinations of them make up all of the sounds in spoken language. Attaching sounds to these letters and learning to write them paves the way to successful reading and writing which then leads to further success in school and life. Children who have no help learning the alphabet letters before school begins start their education process behind their peers -- and some children will never be able to catch up.

Make a chart and find stickers or use a star to show your child the letters that he/she has mastered.

When you are at the supermarket have your child help you find the groceries by using letters and names. Logos and environmental print that surround your child adds to the learning environment.

Reading with your child and pointing out letters in a word is a very natural way to teach the alphabet or go to the library and take out a variety of books about the alphabet.

It is not enough to simply teach your child the letters of the alphabet in order. Children also must learn the letters of the alphabet out of sequence as well as in sequence. Children should be able to recognize the shape and sound of each letter as well as words that commonly begin with that letter. Once your child has this mastered then they are on the road to becoming a reader! If you do not help your child with learning the alphabet letters before they reach school then you are failing your child.

Explore more about learning the alphabet letters at http://teachyourchildthealphabet.info/

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Learning The Alphabet Letters Ideas For Parents

The first step to helping your child learn to read involves helping your child with learning the alphabet letters. The alphabetic principle is an important step in the process of learning to read. Learning the alphabet letters teaches children that spoken language is represented by written words that are made up of varying combinations of letters, and that these letters and combinations of them make up all of the sounds in spoken language. Attaching sounds to these letters and learning to write them paves the way to successful reading and writing.

Take your finger and trace the letters on the palm of the hand or on your child's back.

Try Alphabits Cereal for breakfast and name the letters.

Finding, matching, and identifying Alphabet Soup letters are fun using a magnifying glass to enlarge the letters.

It is not enough to simply teach your child the letters of the alphabet in order. Children also must learn the letters of the alphabet out of sequence as well as in sequence. Children should be able to recognize the shape and sound of each letter as well as words that commonly begin with that letter. Once your child has this mastered then they are on the road to becoming a reader!

Explore more about learning the alphabet letters at http://howtoteachthealphabet.info/

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Learning The Alphabet Letters Ideas

One of the first steps in becoming a successful reader is learning the alphabet letters. The alphabetic principle teaches that spoken language is represented by written words that are made up of varying combinations of letters, and that these letters and combinations of them make up all of the sounds in spoken language. Attaching sounds to these letters and learning to write them paves the way to successful reading and writing.

Sing the Alphabet Song and stop at that letter for the child to sing alone.

Model the correct formation of the letter and have your child print the letter with a paintbrush, marker, crayon, chalk, q-tip, pencil, magic slate, or pen.

Point out the letter on signs and in books.

When learning the alphabet letters it is important to learn the name, shape, and sound of each letter both in order and out. Once your child has this mastered then they are on the road to becoming a reader!

Learn more about learning the alphabet letters at http://howtoteachabcs.info