Learning to Read
Systematic Phonics Instruction in 7 Steps
In this section we will develop and explain 7 simple steps to Learning to Read. As discussed in our section on the proven best methods
of Teaching Reading the National Reading Panel (NRP) of
the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has accumulated solid evidence on the best way of Teaching Reading from reviewing over 100,000
reading studies.
From this extensive review they have concluded that the best way to teach reading is through
Systematic Phonics Instruction which includes: Phonemic
Awareness, The Alphabetic Principle, Phonics, Improving Vocabulary and
Reading Comprehension Improvement.
The focus and goal of this website is to use our knowledge, experience
and research to bring to you the Secrets of learning each specific topic
we address.
In this section we are focused on simplifying what we have
learned about how you can help your child learn to read, including our own personal
successes in the area, and organizing these principles into a simple, easy to understand 7 Steps. We don't simply mean learning to read, we mean
helping your child become an excellent, confident reader with ever
increasing levels of comprehension.
Learning to Read
Reading Step #1 - Learning to Talk
The first step in learning to read is - Learning to Talk. All healthy
neurologically normal human children when exposed to an environment where they hear spoken words and conversations will learn to talk. They will "automatically" learn to verbally speak their native
language, in our case English.
How do young children learn to talk? By listening to their parents
speak, mimicking sounds and eventually associating these sounds with
words that represent things and actions.
Reading Step #2 - Increasing Verbal Vocabulary
Children's verbal vocabulary and ability to articulate sounds of words
are enhanced through parental reading of stories with pictures, rhyming,
songs and general listening and interaction with parents and other
children.
So all children approach reading with a reasonable verbal
vocabulary of sounds that make up the words that they associate with
things and actions.
Reading Step #3 - Learning the Alphabet
The next step on the road to helping your child learn to read is to
understand that the sounds that he or she has learned to make in
learning to talk are and can be associated with letters of the alphabet.
Of course the first step in mastering this "Alphabetic Principle" is to
learn to recognize and name the letters of the alphabet.
This learning of the alphabet is most commonly accomplished by helping
children to learn the "Alphabet Song", working with letter magnets on
magnetic boards or the family refrigerator and letter recognition games.
Reading Step #4 - Learning the Sounds of Letters
When a child is able to recognize the letters of the
alphabet the next step in putting your child on the road to becoming an excellent reader is Learning the
Sounds of Letters. To help you help your child learn the sounds of
letters we have developed web-based picture-sound flash cards.
Click
Here to access these electronic flash cards to start your child on
the way to becoming an excellent reader by mastering the sounds of letters.
Reading Step #5 - Learning Simple Words
Once your child has mastered the Alphabetic Principle by learning to
recognize all the letters of the alphabet and their sounds, the next step
in learning to read is to learn that words are made of combinations of
several letter sounds merged together.
Most children at this stage will readily associate words from their
verbal vocabulary with words they learn to sound out from learning the
sounds that combinations of letters make. This process results in your
child learning to read simple words like cat, dog and ball.
To see the light bulbs go on in your children's eyes when they first
realize that they can read words is a true and lasting joy both for your
child and for you as a parent.
Steps 4 and 5 in learning to read are collectively referred to as Phonics.
It is at Step 3 (Alphabetic Awareness) and
Steps 4 and 5 (Phonics) that most children who do not become good readers
have problems. It is at this stage that giving your child the reading help he or she needs is so vitally important.
We have discussed that studies show that essentially all children will
learn to speak on their own just by being immersed in a language
environment. However, this is not true of Steps 3 through 5. Children
have to be taught the Alphabetic Principle and Phonics.
If you help your child master these three critical steps, Learning the
Alphabet, Learning the Sounds of Letters (and letter combinations called
phonemes), and Learning Simple Words you will put them well along on the
road to becoming an excellent reader.
Reading Step #6 - Increasing Written Vocabulary
Studies have shown that the best way to help a child increase his
written word vocabulary is through what is called "Guided Oral
Reading", where a parent or teacher has the child to read sentences,
stories and books out loud, has the child to "sound out" any unfamiliar
words and uses pictures and verbal explanations to provide context and
understanding of the meaning of the new words.
Reading Step #7 - Improving Reading Comprehension
The best method for continued improvement in your child's reading skills
is to extend the guided reading concept to stories that your child
reads. At this point the child is usually an eager and excited reader
and will readily read books aloud to you. Again, assisting your child
in "sounding out" unfamiliar words, and helping by providing context,
verbal definitions and helping your child learn to use a picture-
dictionary are excellent strategies to improve reading comprehension.
The 7 Steps of Learning to Read
The secret of helping your child to become an excellent, confident reader is to help your child master each of these seven steps.
- Learning to Talk
- Increasing Verbal Vocabulary
- Learning the Alphabet
- Learning Sounds of Letters
- Learning Simple Words
- Increasing Written Vocabulary
- Improving Reading Comprehension
When you have helped your child master these 7 steps
you will have given them an extraordinary gift and will have put them on
the road to lifelong success and happiness. What more could a parent want?
Click Here for our Reading Lesson #1
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