R is for Reading: Learning Skills How-Tos


📙Reading is a step by step process. After learning your ABCs and phonics (70 phonograms or patterns of sounds in English) you learn to combine the letters/sounds into words.  Words get put into sentences which can be put into paragraphs and made into chapters to comprise books. What starts as an alphabet ends with being able to access all material written in the English language according to your interest.  Reading literally opens up the world to you!🌎

Reading takes time and  practice to master it.  It is a skill that comes easier for some than for others.  Being exposed to both oral stories and a variety of written texts is a help so provide the child(ren) in your life with a rich environment full of text.  It is a fact that having books in the home makes a  difference.  Having regular opportunities to see the alphabet and practice writing skills also positively influences both their interest in reading and writing and their ability to do it well. 

When choosing a reading activity for a child, you should read a step higher than their current level but practice at or below their level so they are not discouraged and give up too soon.  Everyone wants to be successful in their efforts and yet challenged to achieve more so as not to become complacent.  

Starting with two letter words, word families and memorized high frequency list words, an early reader can build their skills and their confidence. Standing on that foundation, decoding new and bigger words based on context will also develop as they learn.

Knowledge of the phonograms has proven useful as is knowledge of spelling rules.  For example, 'c' says /s/ if followed by i or e but /k/ if followed by a, o, u or a consonant. Now I know c-a-t is pronounced kat not sat and why.  That helps!  

There are numerous programs to help develop reading skills in children.  You can find the best approach for your child but the best predictor of all is spending time with the child(ren) in your life reading a wide variety of texts in a fun, relationship-building manner!





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