Reading is one of the most critical skills your child will learn, because it is the gateway to academic achievement. If your child can read, she can learn anything she wants to. If she struggles with reading, she will struggle throughout her academic life and will be at a disadvantage in the workplace.
Many children have grown up with Internet access---it is as much a part of their lives as the television and the microwave oven. You can use this familiar tool to teach your child to read or to practice literacy skills she may be struggling with.
Teach Reading Skills
Step 1
Read together online. The Children's Storybooks Online website offers dozens of picture books and chapter books aimed for young children, older children, and young adults. If you have a laptop or portable device, you can access this website when you travel or while you sit in waiting rooms.
Step 2
Teach the alphabet. Start by teaching your child to recognize individual letters by name, then teach him the sound each letter makes. StarFall.com has a fun, interactive game that teaches the letters and their sounds through music.
Step 3
Teach basic phonics skills. When your child knows the alphabet and the sounds each letter makes, move on to leveled readers. StarFall.com has a complete set of short story books that each emphasize a single phonics concept. For example, the first book in the series, Zac The Rat, teaches the short "a" sound. Each of the books on StarFall.com is available as both an interactive reading experience and as a printable book.
Step 4
Play word games. The Reading Planet and Between The Lions websites have a variety of word games that teach rhyming, beginning and ending sounds, and grammar.
Strengthen Comprehension Skills
Step 1
Use reading to solve problems. When your child asks a question or wants to know how to do something, go online together and research the information. Encourage your child to do as much of the work as she can, but be available to supervise and to assist if needed.
Step 2
Use online dictionaries, such as the one at Dictionary.com, to quickly and easily look up unfamiliar words.
Step 3
Make sure your child understands what he reads and develops critical thinking skills. Discuss the websites or articles he found and ask him whether he thinks the information there is reliable. Ask him if it made sense to him and if he has found the answer to his question. Ask him to explain the answers to you.
Tips and Warnings
- Keep reading fun. If your child becomes frustrated or bored, stop and try again later.
- Always supervise your child when she is online.
Things You'll Need
- Computer with Internet access
References
- "Teach Them ALL to Read: Catching Kids Before They Fall Through the Cracks"; Elaine K. McEwan-Adkins; 2009
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: The NICHD Research Program in Reading Development, Reading Disorders and Reading Instruction
