Tips & Tricks for Learning to Read
I’ve taught all my kids to read at 3 years old. Here are some tips and tricks I’ve learned to help along the way!
- Start early in the day.
- Immediate reward (very small): m&ms, cut up very small chocolates, mini chocolate chips, small marshmallows, Low/no sugar: Quest pb cups (cut up), gummy snacks, stickers, or anything that truly excites your child! I start by giving them a tiny, tiny treat for every sound, then as they progress, I give it for every word, later on for every sentence, and further down the road, only after every story. This has helped tremendously!
- Long term goal reward! When you’ve finished learning to read (whatever program or book you’re using), what can you do to celebrate? Choose something very fun that you can go do as a family. It must be something that really excites your child. Remind them of that goal regularly.
- Ensure quiet environment (sound machine, if needed). Turn off TV/music.
- Praise! Give plenty of praise, even if it feels overboard. Show them how wonderful you think each and every tiny step they take in this process is.
- Don’t be afraid to help them out!
- Keep the pace up! Don’t get bogged down. If you child forgets how to sound something out, jump right in and help. They’ll get it eventually! It just takes time and reminders. Lots of time. Lots of reminders.
- Cover the pictures as they read. This ensures they are actually reading the words, instead of guessing (or in the case of my children, looking at the picture and not even looking at the words while they “read”). Show them the pictures only once they are finished with the page.
- When doing individual words make sentences up to fit word. Example: Child sounds out “that”. Then you make up a sentence with “that” in it, like “THAT is a great story!” It allows the child to think of each singular word in a real life sentence, helping them make those important connections between practicing singular words and words in future stories that they will read.
- If needed, break up the lesson throughout the day.
- It’s also ok to go back and review the same lesson the next day.
- Use a pencil to point above words, as you child points under them. Point to the end of word. Then let your pencil glide over whole word and stop at end. This ensures that their eyes are going to the end of the word, instead of only seeing the first letter.
- Encourage your child to connect their sounds as much as possible within each word.
- Keep reminding them to read sounds they SEE, not sounds they THINK!
- Make sure when they sound out a word slowly, that they go back and repeat that same word quickly.
- Reread for your child as he/she reads the sentences (because they will be going slowly and can get disengaged otherwise from the material), and do so in an engaging way. Make it extra funny, or suspenseful.
- When transitioning from sounding out words out loud, to sounding words out in *silence*- have them speak it so quietly that you can’t hear -like a secret!
- Remind them of rules (“th” goes together, “ea” says eee, etc). Remind, remind, remind.
- Go into this with right mentality: They CAN learn to read, but it takes TIME. A little a day is what counts! Just DON’T GIVE UP!
- Important to pick literature they will be successful at (build confidence) AND enjoy after they master the basics! See my Vetted Book List!