what are some good ways to help my 3-year-old learn to read?

Question

what are some good ways to help my 3-year-old learn to read?

Answer 1

Sit down and read to her and eventually with her. Since she knows most of the alphabet make sure she knows each letter sound. Then maybe you can make a game out of flash cards. 1. Show a letter and let her think of a word that starts with it. 2. Show her a small word. Gradually introduce more cards as she gets better. Buy alphabetic magnets for the fridge. Each day talk one letter and find things around the house that start with that letter. Leap Frog has noisy ones that tell the sound the letter makes. One of my nephews really loved it (another one didn't pay much attention to it) BTW ... it doesn't sound like your daughter is doing too badly developmentally with the way things are now. She's doing great for 3 and every kid will develope at their own pace. Just keep learning fun.

Answer 2

Yes... My 3 year old is learning to read. It is never to early. First start with letter sounds. Then teach them blends... ex. ta, ti,te,to, tu. Do that with most letters. Once they start getting the letter blends down, then start on 3 letter words. Then sentences with all 3 letter words. We are using Abeka K4 curriculum. My 3 and 4 year old are doing it together and my 3 year old has been able to keep up and sometimes catches on to things easier. Your Child is probably sight reading if he sees those words over and over again, but it seems like he is defiantly ready to start to learn to read.

Answer 3

Just because he is recognising words, it does not mean he is ready to 'read' in the way that we understand what it is to read. Let me explain why.



There are two ways in which we 'read' a word. One is simple word recognition, which is what your son is doing. We build up a sight vocabulary of familiar words and this is good and should be encouraged. A simple way of helping to build his sight vocabulary is through using 'flashcards' of words, which you would present to him several times daily. This would develop the neural networks which act as 'word recognition structures' in the brain. There is also evidence that when this is done, it also helps children to identify specific letters within words.



The second way we learn to read it through building the word phonologically. You will recognise this when you see an unfamiliar word, - you literally build it from the individual sounds of the letters. He might not be ready for this yet, because he is only 3 years old and there are specific developmental abilities, which need to be in place for this to be possible. The first developmental ability is a mastery of the 'sound system' of the language. For instance, English contains 44 different sounds, which can be combined in a great many ways to make words. So he needs lots of exposure to spoken language, to such things as rhyme and alliteration, to build his 'phonological awareness.



Another ability he needs to develop in order to be a successful reader in this way is 'inner speech.' You will notice that when you read, you hear an 'inner voice' reading the word. This is an element of 'verbal thought' which facilitates you not only reading, but comitting to verbal memory the words you have read, so that you are able to comprehend the meaning of the string of words on the page.



Children generally do not develop 'inner speech' until they are approximately 6 - 7 years old and to try to push him into reading prior to the development of inner speech could create failure and turn literacy into a negative experience for him.



My advice? Build his sight vocabulary with flashcards by all means, but apart from that, if you want to develop a truly intelligent child, concentrate upon developing spoken language skills and phonological awareness, - this is proven to be the most effective means of creating a truly literate child.

Answer 4

http://www.seghea.com/homeschool/Read.html

This method is on-line and FREE! It takes you back to the old first reader days. Kids pick up reading quickly, and they are encouraged because of their success so they want to do more. My 5 yr old preK granddaughter picked this up in 6 months. My son (her daddy), picked this up by age three. My second son, with a hearing impairment, was able to recognize words faster. As for my granddaughter, she can read many simple words, and Bob books. That's good enough for now! For age three, it is very typical that kids recognize words (mcDonald's, pepsi, ect. ) Rhyming books and rhyming games are great ways to introduce speech patterns and sounds. Dr Suess is great. Simple books like Bob books are wonderful too. Before you start any reading instruction, make sure he can rhyme words, and pick off sounds. If not, this would be a 1st place to start. You mentioned labeling objects. I would limit, maybe two doors labeled. This can be a game. "can you find this word?" I also have a link to a website that will let you make labels (again .... FREE!)

Answer 5

The basic is to start off with phonics. Make sure your child is clear of all letters' sounds, beginning sound and ending sound. Start with two letters words and increase slowly. You can get your child to try figuring out how to pronounce the word (applying his knowledge on phonics) before telling him the answer. Good luck and the key is PATIENCE. =)

Answer 6

That's great that he's starting to recognize word in print around his environment...especially words that he sees a lot...which are probably what castle and tarzan are. That is one of the beginning steps to reading. Some things you want to work with him on is phonological awareness...hearing how many "chunks" are in the word; letter sounds, hearing beginning sounds, hearing rhyming pairs. A few things we look for with a child is whether they can "cross the midline", have the visual tracking that is required, correctly make a circle, square, triangle (these fine motor skills are a part of reading), whether he makes a cross correctly. Continue reading reading reading to him. LeapFrog has some great products out there for reading. Point out print...sound out words and work on those letter sounds and stringing the sounds together to make words. Good luck!

Answer 7

I have a few tips that helped my kids learn to read.



First, label everything in your house. We got index cards and printed (very neatly, with correctly formed letters) the name of an object in bold marker and stuck the index card on the object. For example, an index card with "door" was taped to the door. Do this for as many things as you can. When your child feels like "playing" have them say door as they point to the word door, then have them say door and point to the door.



Second, I made homemade flash cards for the alphabet. I again got index cards and put a letter on the front in both capital and lower case. On the back, I cut out pictures of things that started with that letter. For example, "C c" on the front and pictures of cars and cats on the back. This way you can use items that are familiar to the child. For a favorite unlce, we put his picture on the back of the R for Ryan...she LOVED getting to that card! You can play by guessing what word starts with the letter you are showing, or by guessing what letter the items you are showing start with.



Good luck.



Remember to keep all reading activites fun and lighthearted. If you make it a chore, no one (including you) will want to do it.

Answer 8

Recognizing a few words does not mean your child is ready to 'read'. He recognizes the words as pictures, essentially, rather than piecing them together as words. 3 is pretty young for meaningful reading.



My best suggestion is to have books around. Make them early reading books, any books with words along with enough colorful pictures that he likes to 'read' them himself. Believe it or not, many kids will pick up the reading part themselves, especially if you keep reading along and pointing out words.



My son would sit and look at his picture books for hours. He ended up figuring out the reading thing all by himself. Lots of encouragement and help with the tough words in the beginning, and most of all, letting the kid discover the joy of reading.

Answer 9

Definitely reading with them is a great way to start, and encouraging them by using fun games. The LEAP frog books with sound, look really fun and also have games that make learning to read fun.



I learned to read when I was 3/4 years old, and my brother just always read me that same book over and over again, so that I'd begin to recognize the words on my own.



Good Luck!

Answer 10

There are many ways to introduce pre-reading skills and it definitely sounds like your son is showing an interest! This is a great time to start the reading process because everything is new and exciting.



My girls showed an interest at two, so we did many activities. Through those activities they started naturally recognizing, letters, sounds and then words.



Some things you can do are:

1. Put up a bulletin board to display significant letters and words:



http://www.teaching-tiny-tots.com/toddler-activities-bulletin-board.html



2. Make your own books using drawn pictures, photos, postcards and write a word, simple sentence or phrase that your child creates. He will likely remember what he "wrote" and you can praise his "reading."



http://www.teaching-tiny-tots.com/toddler-books-ideas.html



3. Lots of drawing with crayons, markers and even painting. Ask what the picture is and label, display on a bulletin board or wherever you put up special pictures.



4. Above all read, read, read! Read repetitive stories like Brown Bear Brown Bear, rhyming stories, anything he shows an interest in. Continue pointing at the words as you read. Do pre-reading activities like looking at the cover and asking what does he think the book is about. Say, "The Title is....."



5. Does he enjoy helping in the kitchen? Cooking is a great way to develop reading skills. Write out the recipe in large letters, post and gather ingredients and follow along step by step.



These are just a few activities you can do to introduce reading in a meaningful and fun way. Good luck!

Answer 11

Look if your child knows some words then that's is not big thing .my liltle brother too reads words like doereamon ,pokemon,shinchan.If u want to make your child take up reading as hobby then give him some picture books .They are the best