Learning to Read Part 3: Reading Strategies

Reading strategies are the tools children use when reading.  The more strategies an adult can teach their reader, the more independent a child can be when reading a book.  Here are a few common strategies.

Sound it out
Phonetic awareness is only one tool a new reader can use when learning to read fluently.  It is often unreliable if your child hasn't mastered phonetic rules and acceptions used in the English language.  In order to use this tool effectively when reading with your children, it is important to know what phonetic rules your child has already learned (like silent E; When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking, Th, Sh and Ch, and so on).  Sound it out is most effective when reading a word that follows the most common phonetic rules such : C-A-T or J-U-M-P.


Picture Clues
Using illustrations to understand words is very useful and increases a child's reading comprehension and fluency.  When your child gets stuck on a word or sentence, instruct them to use a picture clue.  Because most modern children's literature is illustrated in a way that tells the story, observing the picture will give your little one a good idea of what the words say.

Rhymes or word families
Remember all that rhyming you did with your child when she was a pre reader? It's about to pay off.  If a child can recognize rhyming words, then they are also likely to visually connect word families.  Rhyming words (and word families) all end the same way.  So all words that end in -at should rhyme.  If your child can read cat, then she can read a number of English words.  Cover the beginning of the word and tell her, "This word is in the -at family."  Then cover the -at and show her the beginning of the word. "What does P say?"
Breaking down the word in this way makes it less intimidating and helps your child to connect her rhyming skills with her reading skills.

Chunking

Chunking, is vital to fluent reading.  It is the process of reading more than one word at time, or relying on prior knowledge to comprehend the text instead of understanding each word individually.  Chunking is important to beginner readers because the faster a child reads, the more he comprehends.  

The best way to help your child to chunk words is to repeat what he has read before you turn the page.  A new reader spends a lot of energy phonetically reading  and may not connect how each word makes a sentence.   

Co reading or lead reading
     A major obstacle for many beginner readers is fatigue.  Sounding out words and reading independently takes more energy than being read to and may decrease your child's enjoyment of reading time. This is simply a problem of reading fluency.  When a child hears the words being read to at a fast enough pace, the story will make sense.  If your child is intimidated by seeing a page with more than once sentence, or is just getting tired at the end of a book, you can offer to read it together.
     This strategy is called Co-reading.  The master reader should slow their reading pace to one beat above your beginner's natural pace.  Read the first few words in a sentence and listen to make sure your reader is following along.  You're reading is helping your child to chunk the words on the page, and that is helping her better understand the words being read.
   

Learning to Read Part 2: Picking books for your young reader

Image found on www.empoweringchildren.org

Now that you have identified what reading level your child is, it is time to pick some books.  Because the young mind is always growing, your child’s reading level is always changing.  It is important to model reading at least one level above what your child can read on her own.  This helps to bridge the gap between levels.

   

Of course, when reading to your children, any book of interest will do.  However, when picking a book for your emergent or beginner reader to read to you, look for the following traits: 

Simple, repetitive  sentences

     Your emergent reader just sounded out a word. Great! Now for the rest of the book.  
Many early childhood books have repetitive sentences like, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?  Once your child has sounded out a word, you can point to it through out the book, "You know this word.  You read it on the other page." Or she can practice sounding it out over and over again until she knows it by sight. Beginner readers benefit from repetitive stories because the repetition helps to increase their fluency, or speed of reading.
     Prereaders enjoy the poetry of repetitive stories.  They can memorize the story and mimic reading it themselves, an important step to becoming an emergent reader.

Song Books, Prayer books and other familiar stories 

     Because your child may have already memorized the words to common songs or prayers,  she will not have to rely on sounding out every word. Reading books like, Wheels On the Bus, or The Our Father,  may help to improve your child's reading skills and confidence because they already know what words to expect.  When sounding out "round," for instance, your emergent and beginner reader may sound out the first sound, then relay on her previous knowledge of the lyrics to finish the word.
     The illustrations in these books will bring new life to songs and prayers for the pre reader. These children will also practice the mechanics of reading, such as holding the book, looking left to right, turning the pages at the right times and looking for clues in the pictures.

It is important to note that all levels of readers will benefit from both Song books and Repetitive books for different reasons. A pre-reader will be able to recite the words on the page and gain understanding through the illustrations.  The emergent reader will recite the words she already knows, and then connect that what she is saying matches the words on the page. A beginning reader will read these books with a higher fluency because she does not read each word individually, but in chunks like a master reader would.

Repetitive Sight words

     Dolche Sight words are a list of commonly seen words, categorized by grade level.  They are known as sight words because many of these common words cannot be sounded out and therefore must be memorized.  Sight words can be practiced by flash card, by games like Bingo or Memory, or by rote reciting.  Most successful reading programs incorporate a combination of phonics skills and sight word instruction to successfully teach children to read.
     Although sight words are not a factor for pre-readers,  a main difference between emergent and beginner readers are the number of sight words they recognize.  This is because the less time a reader spends sounding out individual words on a page, the more of the story she will understand.  Go Dogs Go, by P.D. Eastman, is a fantastic example of a sight word book.  The text is made almost entirely of Kindergarten level sight words, making it a wonderful way to put the flashcards and rote memorizing into practical learning.     
     Another fun activity would be to use your sight word flash cards to make sentences and then create your own book, where your child is the main character.  

When your child is done reading a book to you, reward them by reading a story to them.    Modeling fluent reading is vital for children.  Proficient readers must model fluent reading for all levels.  Even master readers may need modeling when learning new vocabulary (such as in a Biology text book or a historical character’s name).  And beyond the mechanics of learning to read, the enjoyment of books and stories begins at home.  So make reading a part of your daily schedule.

Learning to Read: A Parent's Guide., Part 1

image found on the SG Enterprise website

     Most parents understand the importance of reading to their child.  However, many adults know little about the process of how children learn to read. There is a lot of information out there and many theories of reading. This month's blogs will be dedicated to breaking down the process of learning to read, so parents can understand.  The better informed you are, the better teacher you will be to your little one.  

     In order to teach your child, you must identify your child's reading level.  Young children usually fit into one of 3 categories: pre-reader, emergent reader or beginner.  

PreReader:
     A pre-reader is someone who has not yet mastered the alphabet or letter sounds. They are more concerned with the illustrations than the letters or the words on the page.
     Most often, pre-readers are very young and consequently have short attention spans. Alphabet, counting and story books with short sentences are appropriate books for these readers. It's ok to pick a book based on the pictures and change the words when "reading" because these children aren't looking at the actual words.
     PreReaders benefit from being read to. We do not use the same rhythm when talking that we do when we read. The more any child hears proficient readers model reading for them, the better readers they will become.

Emergent Reader:
     Someone who knows all her letters and letter sounds and has memorized a hand full of sight words, but has not yet “clicked” into full reading, is an emergent reader. She has the tools to read, but needs a little something extra to bridge the gap to full fledged reader.
     When reading to an emergent reader, slow your reading speed and point to each word. Encourage your child to read words on the page that she might know. Before reading a book, take a picture walk and talk about the illustrations or go on a letter or word hunt and try and find the letter A on the page.  If the reader is familiar with the book, it will be more predictable and therefore easier to read.
     Emergent readers will benefit from reading familiar stories and simple books that use easy to sound-out words like the Bob Book Series. Use environmental print to encourage reading. Emergent readers also enjoy home made books with words and pictures they know like their names and the names of family members.

Beginner Reader:
     A beginning reader is someone who can read 3 to 5 word sentences made up of simple words and relies on simple reading strategies (like sounding out, picture clues and rhyming/ word families) while reading.
     Continue to build on your beginner's skills whenever possible, and encourage them to read through out the day: directions, recipes, the grocery list, or to a younger child. Be sure to give your child time to read because many beginners read very slowly. If necessary, after your child reads a sentence, repeat the sentence. If your little one has spent to much time reading each word, she will not be able to hear how the words form a sentence and will loose meaning in the story. Repeating what she has read will help her to improve her comprehension.

     No matter what your child's reading level, make reading time fun.  It is the perfect time to cuddle, have one-on-one time or make your little one the star of the family for a moment.  These reading experiences you create at home are unique and special and cannot be duplicated in the classroom.  They are the moments that make parents child's best teacher.