If your kid is in kindergarten or grade 1, they’re probably starting to bring books home from school to learn to read. Parents can play an important role in making the experience positive and helping them learn important decoding skills. It’s important to know that not all classrooms support decoding and phonics in the same way. These tips below from experts in structured literacy?a systematic way of teaching phonics and decoding skills?will help you support your kid as they’re learning to read.
1. Focus on sounding out, not guessing
When kids learn to read, they need to match letters or combinations of letters to sounds, explains Liisa Freure, a former elementary teacher and reading expert who trains teachers in structured literacy. ?If they sound out or decode a word successfully a few times, then that word transfers into their sight vocabulary, which means when they see that word, they can remember what that word is, rather than having to sound it out each time.? If your child is stuck on a word, don?t let them guess, says Alicia Smith, president of the International Dyslexia Association Ontario. ?If they have learned how to decode it, help them sound it out.
If not, just tell them how, or tell them the word.? If you find your kid is consistently guessing based on context or pictures, cover up the picture or have them practice reading short, easily decodable words (like ?cat,? ?dog? or ?sun?) that are not in context.
2. Don?t rush to books
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