Phonological awareness:
Phonemes are the sounds that make up the words we speak. There are a little over 40
distinct phonemes in the English language, and you can help your child learn them by talking with them, singing with them,
and reading nursery rhymes and poems.
Letter Recognition:
Phonemes are represented in print by the 26 letters of the English alphabet. You can help
your child learn the alphabet by singing the alphabet song, reading alphabet books like
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by
Bill Martin, Jr. and by keeping magnetic letters on the refrigerator.
Vocabulary:
The more vocabulary a child understands, the easier it is to learn to read. Knowing some of the
words in a sentence can help a child figure out other words in the sentence. Talking with your child is the easiest way to
build your child’s vocabulary.
Print Awareness:
Print awareness means learning that we read from the top to the bottom and from left to right,
as well as learning that books have titles, authors, illustrations, etc. Let your children explore books as they please, but
when you read to them, point to the title and author and show them how you start reading with the text in the top, left part
of the page.
Narrative Skills:
Developing a child’s narrative skills builds reading comprehension. Relate the text
to the illustrations, ask your child questions while you read, and encourage them to retell the story in their own words.
Print Motivation:
Reading should be fun and something a child likes to do. Let them pick out books at the library,
and pick books for them that you think they will enjoy. Being motivated to read is a key to learning to read.
