TEACHING CHILDREN TO READ
A Helpful Article from Touch-type Read & Spell
BREAKING IT DOWN
SECTION 1
"Learning to read is one of the most important things a child will do in his or her life. That’s because we live in a society in which literacy skills are the key to success. When reading ability doesn’t develop overnight, some parents and educators worry they are on the wrong path to instruction." ...Click the link to continue reading...
SECTION 2
"There are certain pre-literacy skills educators have identified as important in preparing kids for reading instruction. Children can speak their native language, but they may not always recognize the component phonemes that make up English vocabulary." ...Click the link to continue reading...
SECTION 3
(#1 - Phonics) Reading requires bringing together a child’s knowledge of the sound system of his or her native language and the letters and letter combinations that represent different phonemes. For this reason, some phonics instruction is essential." ...Click the link to continue reading...
SECTION 4
"Some kids experience difficulty in reading and this may be due to a learning difficulty or difference. One of the most common learning difficulties is dyslexia, a condition in which literacy skills including reading and spelling, are impacted." ...Click the link to continue reading...
Additional Info: If your child is diagnosed dyslexic or you suspect he/she has dyslexia, you may find "What's the difference between dyslexia and dyspraxia" an interesting read.
SECTION 5
"Kids who struggle with slow processing can have difficulty with the decoding process and with holding all of the details of a text in memory long enough to make meaning. Reducing cognitive load by teaching sight words and providing as much time as a child needs to read a text, can help them develop strong literacy skills." ...Click the link to continue reading...
SECTION 6
(Continue with this section IF you think you might be interested in subscribing to the Touch-type Read and Spell program.) "One way to help a struggling reader is to teach them typing following a specially designed program such as Touch-type Read and Spell. This is because the early stages involve a graded approach that covers one letter at a time and then progresses to letter combinations, and finally simple vocabulary and sentences." ...Click the link to continue reading...