Do you want to teach your preschooler read? A good way to start is through phonics. In phonics, you teach letter sounds a few letters at a time and as the child learns those letters, you add the sounds of more letters to the mix. Before you know it, you child can sound out whole sentences and is well on his way to reading. This technique is not exclusively for younger children. A number of older children are struggling with reading because they never learned phonics. This technique can be used with them to make them much more fluent in reading and give them confidence.
Instructions
1. Start by teaching three or four consonant sounds and a short vowel such as an "a." Let's say you are teaching the consonants sounds for "n", "r", "s", and "t". Put the letters on three by five cards as well as any words that can be made using those four letters: "ran," "rat," "sat," "has," "tan." Go over the sounds with the child using the letter cards and then show them the word cards. Help him sound out the words and when possible, show the child pictures of what the word represents so he can make the connection between the word and the object. Do not combine the consonants to to form complex sounds at the stage.
2. Teach your child a few sight words. Sight words are words that don't really follow the rules of phonics but are needed to make sentences such as "a" and "the." Add a few additional words to the sight word list as needed so you can make understandable sentences.
3. Make sentences using the words your child can now sound out and the short vowel such as "The tan man sat." Go over those sentences with the child. In addition, go to the library and search for books that go over the sounds of the letters you've already done for additional reinforcement. The books you find will also guide you on what letters might be good to teach next.
4. Practice the beginning letters for a day or so. Then gradually add additional letters and vowels to the collection of sounds your child knows. Do not add more than two or three sounds a day. As your child learns more sounds the amount she can read and sound out will increase.
5. Teach all the single sound consonants and short vowels first. Be careful of the consonants that have for than one sound such as "c" and "g" (cat makes one sound and cigar makes another). Teach only one of the sounds at a time.
6. Add in consonant blends and long vowels after your child knows the consonants and short vowels. Make sure you teach the rules for the long vowels so your child and distinguish them easily from the short vowels (such as an "e" at the end of the word makes the vowel long as in "cape").
Tags: your child, short vowels, sounds letters, child knows, child learns