What Is the Best Way to Teach Reading?

Another 'fun' way to get them started is on the website starfall.com This site begins with the alphabet, then the children move to creating word families. There are small stories connected to the word families so they get more practice.

Good luck!

Hi, I came up with my own method. It's BEYOND easy and is the cheapest out there. (; Your child will "read" at her very first book. This will give her confidence and she will be VERY proud. I used this method with my daughter and when she went into school, she was almost promoted a grade because of her advanced reading skills. This is what you do. Look for a book that has words like I, A, me, the, we ANY short words. I started with the word I. Show your daughter the I in the book, and have her look at the I in the book and say I. This is the only word that she has to remember. You start reading the book to her and point to each word as you read (read pretty slowly so she can keep up with your finger). When you get to the word I in the book, it is her turn to "read" that word. You finish the rest of the sentence. Your daughter will feel like she can read the very first day, and this will excite her to read more.

Once she gets the word I mastered, then move on to other short words like A, me, we, the, But,you can only add one new word to her vocabulary at a time. For instance, once she can recognize and read I in the book (or any book) easily, then add the word A. Your child will then read every I and every A while you read the rest of the book. Starting with these letters is ideal because they both have the same amount of letters, so your child will have to be able to differentiate between the two words. Keep on adding words one at a time, and pretty soon your child will be reading the whole sentence. Stick with easier books though, so when she reads her first book alone, she will feel very accomplished.

I also used this method when I was a para-pro to help a 5th grader read his first word for the very first time. The parents and teacher had given up on him. This was in an ie program and he was VERY proud, and felt smart! It really works!! When you are done...say great job! I'm sooo proud of you, you are sooo smart!

Best wishes with reading.
A..
p.s If you can find a book that mentions your daughters name as one of the main characters that would be wonderful too. She'll be proud at reading a BIGGER word. (;

Any children's librarian should be able to be very helpful to you. There area a lot of primary level books in any library, and the fun of picking them out, carrying them in a special library bag, reading them and returning them is fun for most kids. She is blessed to be learning 2 languages.

If you have about 15 minutes a day you can spend with her, then check out Siegfried Engelmann's book called, "Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons." It is phonetically based, and by the time she is done, she will be about 2nd grade reading level. My son has finished this book before he turned 4, and he is really enjoying the reading process. You can make the transition from the book to library level 1 easy readers on the shelves. Just ask the librarians where they are at. Siegfried's book takes you step by step as the parent on exactly what to say, and how to correct misunderstandings in sounds, etc. So, you will not be "lost" as to how to present it to her. Good luck. It sounds like your daughter will have lots of options if she has two languages up her sleeve.
J.

In what language do you speak to her? At home, allow English only. I certainly would want her to grow up with both languages and be literate in both.

my daughter liked the hooked on phonics, though she got frustrated when i was teaching her it, but if my sister in law sat down with her she did fine. at our library they have it other wise it is super expensive. good luck

When my son was little I took a page from the Blues Clues show and labeled eveything in my house that would stand still long enough to stick it on. The label included the word, and a picture of exactly what the word described. My then 2 year old would run up and say "mommy, I can spell table!" and then run over there and read the letters. This resulted in him having a big sight word knowledge early on (he was reading in full by 3, I also made a poster with capital and lowercase letters each set in a different color, and would ask the kids each morning who could find me the red letter, the H, or the letter that said "ssss" depending on where each child was at in thier knowledge. Also, leapfrog makes a fridge magnet that you "plug" other (letter) magnets into that tells you what each letter is and what sound it makes to a catchy little tune. I know they have a similar one that does up to three letters at a time to make a short word and helps the kids sound it out. Hope it helps!

Hello K.,

I have used hooked on phoncs with my child, it is a great program. You can buy the complete set for 75.00 at walmart or you can buy indivual age range sets for 25.00 at walmart and sometimes toys r us has them as well as costco warehouse, otherwise you can visit hooked on phonics website and download a demo version to see if you like it. I am currently using hooked on phonics: spanish with my children now, so that we can all learn spanish.

Also (a beka) was used with my son at school (this is a christian based program used at private schools) it is excellent, just excellent and can't be beat. It will for sure put a child ahead of the game.

However it can get a bit expensive. www.abeka.com

You will see alot of home schooling info there but you can still order what ever you like even if you do not home school.

Once you decide on what you want, you can search ebay for items at a much cheaper price.

But I have looked into several things when it came time for my daughter to read and hooked on phonics learn to read came to the closest of being an awesome product from the abeka program my son used in private school years ago. I did not go back with abeka with my daughter because of cost at the time as money was an issue, otherwise that would have been my choice.

Overall hooked on phonics was great. I recommend it!!!

Good luck!!!!!

I agree... Phonetically.

Hi K.

I'm sorry if I'm being naive, but you didn't say where you were living. If you're living in France, I think it's wonderful for you to want to teach your daughter a second language. That will actually help her learn her first language even better. If you're living here in the US, I'm a little baffled that English would be taught to her as her second language (with regard to reading and writing).

Anyhow, Scholastic Books (the catalogues which are routinely distributed throughout US elementary classrooms) are always a good choice...and they can be very economical, as well.

The library is also a wonderful resource. We go there often. They have a summer reading program where kids can earn stickers and things on the wall and crafts and post logs on the web and a lot of other things. They also have something called "Ruff Readers" which allows the kids to read to dogs. Sounds funny, but it's really cool. The kids go in, choose 'doggie books' and read aloud to the dogs. What better (nonjudgemental) audience?! Again, I'm not sure if you're here in the US or in France...they may not have this going on where you are.

I have a 9 year old son, who has now read almost the entire Harry Potter series. It really clicked for him around the first or second grade...and he just took off. Prior to that, he much preferred to be read to. Now, we still read and chat together for about 10 mins each night, then he reads on his own for about 20-30 mins.

My own opinion is that at 5 years old, whether you're reding to her in French or in English or in pig latin, they are happy just to hear their sweet mommy's voice telling them a story.

A.

What a great idea Janet gave you! You may also want to try simple rhyming books or or books that repeat the same simple words often. Another idea might be to get English versions of books she is learning in French. Best of Luck!

N.

I just started with my son (he will be four) by getting him to sound out the letters, and writing words down on his light sketcher. I figure the books can be overwhelming. I wanted to start small and this was fun for him.

I asked him to give me words that started with the letter (i.e. What starts with 'G' and he says 'Good' so this is what I write down, and we go over the word on the board.) it was a lot of fun and still educational at the same time.

He begins pre-school in September, and I am bumming! My baby is growing up~