Parental Assistance is Critical for Struggling
Readers!
In an ever-growing world of computers and
gadgets, it is often easy to overlook the importance
of good old hands-on learning. As a parent, it is
easy to assume that your child will learn everything
they need to know scholastically from their
teachers. However, with the amount of children who
are currently identified as ‘special needs’ in our
school system, it is difficult for any teacher to
meet the needs of all of their students.
In Canada
AND the United States of America,
approximately one out of two adults has insufficient
reading skills and is functionally illiterate.
Furthermore, this rate is expected to drop as the
population ages.
Thus it is important to begin changing these
statistics by changing the emerging patterns of
child readers. Studies clearly show that children
who read with their parents at least three times per
week develop into much stronger readers than those
who do not experience that luxury.
Imagine what those children could do if they were
not only read to, but were taught to read before
entering kindergarten.
With an abundance of emerging reading programs,
it can be difficult to decipher what is mostly
advertising and pretty colours from what is an
effective reading program. Currently, there appears
to be an over-abundance of computer-based reading
programs, along with yet again an over-abundance of
single-word flashcards that you can give to your
child to examine. However, let me begin my list of
criteria by stating that parental interaction is
very important with children of a young age. It is
the parent they look to for clarification, for
facial cues and verbal encouragement. Thus,
implementing a reading ‘program’ between parent and
child can be the most beneficial of all.
Most young children are very visual learners, and
it is therefore instrumental to have a very visual
program to present reading. The use of large
flashcards ensures the child can see every aspect of
each word, and the use of a bright color provides
visual stimulation which attracts the eye. When
presenting each flashcard, it is important to state
the word clearly and precisely, ensuring the child
receives a very clear example of what each word
represents. Begin with words that can be associated
to something visually, as this confirms
comprehension of the printed word. For example, you
may begin with names of the people in your family
that they are familiar with. Then move on to things
in their environment, such as rooms in the house,
food items, etc.
Words only need to be shown for approximately one
second each, as the brain will take a snap-shot and
store it for later retrieval. Only show the child a
few cards at a time. This will keep them wanting
more and not bore them by overloading them with too
much new information at a time.
After mastering each single word, take the
flashcard and examine the phonetic components of
each word. I consider this equivalent to seeing the
entire picture of the puzzle, and then sorting it by
shape and color. With words, they are sorting the
letters and sounds and understanding how they make
up the word.
Once the child comprehends single words, begin to
pair them with other single words to create
‘couplets’. Again, this will continue to ensure
reading comprehension is attained, while beginning
to work on reading fluency. Begin to add modifiers
such as colors and opposites which enable you to
string even more words together to form phrases and
finally working up to sentences.
This simple, effective teaching method can be
used for children of any age, but works especially
well with young children who are eager to learn, and
children who are visual learners. By spending only
ten minutes a day teaching your child words, you
will be giving them a tremendous advantage in their
years to come!
|
