Helping Our Children Learn to Read

Jennifer Partrick
Mar 02, 2009

We were not born to read. Genes created during gestation are waiting at birth to be accessed in order to do the jobs they were programmed to do. For example, genes for seeing, hearing, movement, etc. were already there and programmed for the user to begin using. Reading, on the other hand, is very different. There are no genes that are programmed for reading. In order to read, the brain must build a new neural pathway. Learning to read then requires tremendous attention to the task on the part of the student, in addition to the teacher.

Three critical components of reading are; being read to, phonemic awareness, and a clear understanding of the alphabetic principle. The first component of reading happens long before a child begins school. It begins with 'lap time', those special times when children sit on a lap of a loved one or sit next to a loved one and enjoy listening to stories, rhymes and poetry. It is at this time that children begin to understand that pictures support the story, that stories convey feelings that go with words, and the feelings can range from happiness to deep sorrow. Through the story children learn about emotions and begin to understand empathy, as they relate to the characters in the books. They begin to think about what it is like to be in another person's shoes.

Children also learn the language of text, which is quite different from the conversational language. In our everyday speech we do not use phrases like 'Once upon a time ' and 'They lived happily ever after.'  Often, words used to enhance a specific type of text are not used in everyday language, nevertheless, they support a rich vocabulary. Generally, the language of books is Standard English which paves the way for children's understanding of syntax. Through books children begin to understand literary devices. In simple books like Curious George, there are many examples of analogy, which children begin to understand long before they are taught this aspect of writing. Children also begin to predict what they think will happen next, as they make sense of the story and gain an understanding of the characters. All of this is closely related to reading and interacting with text.

Although many students come to kindergarten with little exposure to books, teachers can still make a difference by making sure that time is set aside daily for students to hear stories read aloud. At this time reading becomes visible, and students begin to glimpse what happens as one reads and interacts with text. Students then begin to mimic their teachers, as they apply the same strategies when they begin to learn to read.

The next predictor of how well children will read is the ability to hear and manipulate sounds, especially rhymes and alliteration, and to name letters and their corresponding sounds accurately and automatically. Through playing with sounds children categorize words that share the same rime but different onset and words that begin with the same sound. Wolf (1997) noted that "systematic play with rhymes, first sounds, and last sounds in wordplay, jokes, and songs significantly contributes to a child's readiness to learn to read" (p. 100).

Lastly, the ability to correctly and accurately name the letters of the alphabet and their corresponding sounds is critical to reading. The ability to correctly change the letter to a sound is directly related to decoding. In order to decode words, students must first be able to change the symbols in the words (alphabet) to sounds and then blend the sounds to make the word. Children first learn to blend sounds in phonemic awareness lessons and then use that strategy to help them decode words. Teachers must be sure that they have a volume of games and activities that help students hear and manipulate sounds and help them learn the alphabet. Teachers must be vigilant as they listen to their students read and interact with text, to be sure that they are given the support they need in order to learn to read.

Reference:
Wolf, M. (1997). Proust and the squid. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

See Learning to Read K-2 for more information and ideas.