Reading is an essential part of a child’s learning and development. I believe that one day we won’t care much anymore about handwriting, however, reading is a skill that everyone needs to learn. But some children struggle with reading initially. This post shares some top tips for teaching your child to read, and for helping your child to enjoy reading.
This is a collaborative post.
But first, the Benefits of Reading Well
Reading can supercharge your child’s English skills and ability to perform well across the board with improved brain function and reading fluency. It can even help children to grow into being better people that are respectful and empathetic to others. We have teamed up with a reception in Lincoln to share more on this and to give our top tips for teaching your child to read.
Theory of The Mind
Reading helps children to understand new ideas, allowing them to understand that not everyone shares the same beliefs. This can help them to be open-minded and be more empathetic of others. According to the theory of mind, readers are introduced to different characters through their books and are required to imagine and develop an understanding of them. This can help them to explore different views and be respectful of them in society.
Become More Knowledgeable in The Process
Books are archives of knowledge and cover a vast range of topics. By reading, your child can simultaneously learn about the solar system, entrepreneurship or butterfly farms.
Improved Memory
Stimulation of the brain can help it to preserve memory and reading does a good job of this by keeping the brain active. Studies have shown memory loss to occur at a slower rate in those that read more whilst observing faster rates in the control group.
The Fastest Way to Learn New Words
Reading can help your child to learn new vocabulary, enrich their writing and improve their understanding.
Top Tips for Teaching Your Child to Read
- Start them off young – getting your child to enjoy reading you should get them to start early, start reading as young as possible. I don’t mean for them to read, but the act of reading and exploring books together.
- Read together – This will allow you to work with your child to sound out any tricky words and build their fluency.
- Sound fast so that they are able to spot the word – Blending can be tricky for children which is where speeding up can help by making it easier to hear the words.
- Make reading fun by asking questions and interacting with the story.
- Use phonetics flashcards – Flashcards offer a fun and engaging way to teach your child new sounds and letters. Pictures of words that begin with a particular sound can help to create connections and make remembering easier.
- Create an interactive reading space with your child where you and them can go to spend quality time together reading and exploring the world of books.
- Find their preferred style – find a genre or style of book that fits your child’s sense of humour.
- Let them choose their books – my kids love going to the library to choose their own books, and this makes them want to read more than the set books they get from school.
- Offer praise and encouragement – praise your children and encourage them to read often, and to motivate them to try reading different types of books.
I hope you found this post helpful and that these tips for teaching your child to read can help you to help your little reader love reading more than ever before. What’s your child’s favourite reading spot?
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