To a small child, letters are mysterious objects. You see the letter "A" and your child sees lines. As your child transitions from a toddler to a preschooler, she will begin to understand that letters are more than just squiggles and lines. Imagine her delight as you teach her that each letter represents a sound that she can then use to read those mysterious words on a page. Spend a few minutes every day reading to your child and teaching her how to decode the mystery of reading.
Step 1
Introduce the letter sounds one at a time. Avoid teaching your child just the names of the letters. Reading letters is learning to use the phonetic sound each letter makes and eventually putting those letter sounds together to make words. Carmen and Geoffrey McGuinness, authors of the book "Reading Reflex," remind parents that "the English written code is a sound symbol code, not a word symbol code."
Step 2
Pick one or two letter sounds a week to teach your child. Begin with two consonants such as "m" and "t." Add the vowel "a" and the consonant "s" the second week. These letters are very different visually and are easy for your child to discriminate. Teach her a visual picture to go with each letter. For example use an apple for "a" and a foot for "f."
Step 3
Appeal to your young child's desire to physically experience the things he learns. Drape string on the floor in the shape of the letter you are working on and ask him to walk along the letter. Give him a handful of raisins and let him arrange the raisins in the letter shape. Use paints, crayons and glue pens as a tactile means of reinforcing the letter he is working on. Walden University recommends focusing on one letter throughout the week by preparing snacks that begin with the letter of that week's focus.
Step 4
Make a chart of all the letters she can read and post it on your refrigerator. Review the letters when you are cooking together or eating dinner. Encourage her quick response by rewarding her efforts with a sticker or a hug. Say a word like "bug" and ask her to point to the letter the word begins with.
Step 5
Assess your child's knowledge and understanding of blending by laying two cards on a table and asking your child to say each individual letter sound. Do this with the letters she is comfortable with. If she does well, push the cards together and ask her to say the first sound, followed quickly by the next. Blending letters together is the first step toward reading complete words.
Step 6
Put together three letter words such as cat, mat and log using letter cards. Point to the letters and ask her to say each letter sound without breathing in between the letters, as in singing, recommends the University of Virginia's Reading First in Virginia website. Say the word with her until her understands how to put the letter sounds together.
Tips and Warnings
- Read simple books together like "The Vet" from The Bob Books series, or make your own word booklet. Immerse your child in reading and letter sounds by talking about letter sounds throughout the day. Visit the library and check out rhyming books. Do not rush your child into reading. Wait until she has good recall of one letter before introducing another.
- Have your child evaluated if you suspect a learning disability.
Things You'll Need
- String
- Raisins
- Paint
- Crayons
- Glue
- Snacks
- Letter chart
- Stickers
- Letter card
References
- "Reading Reflex"; Carmen McGuinness, Geoffrey McGuinness; 1999
- Southern Utah University: Phonics Instruction: Why and How
- Walden University: How to Teach Letter Sounds in Preschool
- University of Virginia: Phonics and Word Study: Instructional Activities to Develop Phonics and Spelling Skills
