Education by Shala Books

  • Home
  • Resources
    • FSL Resources
    • ESL Resources
    • Reading Resources
    • Educator Resources
  • Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Support
    • About
    • FAQ
    • Contact
    • Opportunities
  • Login
  • Home
  • Resources
    • FSL Resources
    • ESL Resources
    • Reading Resources
    • Educator Resources
  • Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Support
    • About
    • FAQ
    • Contact
    • Opportunities
  • Login

THE EDUCATION BLOG

BLOG HOME PAGE
Let's Talk Education
Educational Frameworks
Planners
Reading
ESL
FSL
Modern Foreign Languages
Mother Tongue
Tips for Educators
Tips for Parentss
Education Quotes

Blog

March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018

TEACHING YOUR CHILD TO READ WITHOUT A STRUGGLE

29/6/2018

 
When my daughter started kindergarten, books were sent home for reading practice that were beyond what she was ready for, and I could see her getting discouraged and frustrated. The last thing I wanted was for her to dislike reading, so I decided to go with my gut and intuition and dismiss the reading materials that were being sent home. Instead, I created my own set of Emergent Readers eBooks, which I have shared for free on this site, and the progression for reading practice below is what we followed. Perhaps it can benefit other parents out there who are looking for reading resources to help teach their children how to read, and who want to make reading a positive and enjoyable experience.

STEP 1:  Starting With One Word CVC Emergent Readers
Although some may disagree about limiting the books to only CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, it worked for us at the beginning stages. It built her confidence and consolidated what she learned and knew about phonetic letter sounds. It was empowering for her – in her mind she could read a book and that is what mattered most.

STEP 2:  From a Single Word to Two Words
We took it extremely slow in the beginning. Once she was confident with one CVC word on a page, we moved to two CVC words on a page – which at the time completely blew her mind. I can still remember the first time she read two words in a row and made sense of them, it was such a great moment for her and she was so proud of herself!

STEP 3: Adding Sight Words
Once she was convinced two words on a page was something she could handle, I began adding a sight word in front of a CVC word, for example, “a cat.”  I was careful not to rush her, and we spent quite a bit of time on each sight word before I moved on to the next.  I eventually brought her up to reading three to four words on each page, and stopped there. At this point in time, I will admit I panicked a bit because she was behind others in her class, and questioned my methods, but my gut told me to hang in there, and so we did.

STEP 4: Adding CCVC Words
In the next phase we focused on CCVC words, and she caught on fairly quickly. At this point I continued to introduce different initial sounds with the eBooks and kept revisiting the CVC and sight words I had already introduced.

STEP 5: New Sight Words & Longer Sentences
Following the same progression as before, I slowly introduced new sight words and then when she was ready we mixed CVC, CCVC and sight words all together and progressed to longer sentences. The eBooks I created didn’t have any storylines but that didn’t matter to her, she was just happy that she was reading books. The aim was for her to continue building her confidence and comprehending single sentences and phrases that were introduced on each page.

STEP 6: Introducing CVCC Words & New Sight Words
The last step was to introduce CVCC words, and then follow the same progression as before – new sight words and mix all the vocabulary together. By this time her fluency was improving, and she had increased her confidence levels as far as attempting longer sentences.

This is the point we were at when she entered grade 1.  As far as PM Benchmark was concerned she wasn’t even reading at a level 1, but in my mind and as far as she was concerned she could read, and quite well when given the proper materials. I was lucky enough that her grade 1 teacher agreed to let me continue with my teaching methods, so we continued to use my resources, and occasionally we would read one of the readers that was sent home from school.
Teaching Your Child to Read
STEP 7:  Learning CCVCC Words
Introducing CCVCC words was what we started on next, alongside sight word lists that were being sent home from school. During this time (about halfway through first grade), she casually walked over to her bookshelf one night at bedtime, selected It’s My Birthday by Helen Oxenbury, sat down on her bed and began to read it to me!  Although she needed a bit of assistance, she read most of it by herself. She literally went from not even being on level 1 (according to PM Benchmark), to reading books way beyond that. I was so proud of her, and at that moment realized that going with my gut was the best decision.  If you take the time to build a solid foundation with your child, and make sure the basics of reading are in place, they will soar when they are ready. And best of all they will love to read!

STEP 8:  Adding CVCe, CVV & CVVC Words
We are almost at the end of the grade 1 school year, and my daughter is at the top of her class for reading. We now use the school readers being sent home on a daily basis, along with her favorite books at home.  We also continue practicing the one-word Transitional Readers eBooks I created, which focus on CCVCC, CVCe, CVV & CVVC words. I have noticed that when she gets stuck on a word it’s because she hasn’t quite mastered sounds in those words yet, so this is good practice for her. We are fine-tuning her skills.

Reflecting on my daughter’s reading journey, it has been such a positive and empowering experience for her and she has come out a strong and avid reader, which was my goal from the beginning. Always trust your instinct when it comes to your children’s learning journeys and know that whatever path your children take, they will learn to read! For a detailed overview of all the Emergent Readers eBooks in our collection and a more in depth look at the progression we followed, please see the previous article.
Further Reading

Learning to Read vs. Vocabulary Building
Improving Your Child's Reading Skills

Improving Your Child's Writing Skills
Improving Your Child's Speaking & Listening Skill

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    SHARE ARTICLE

    Welcome to
    The Education Blog

    Christina Shala
    Christina Shala
    About Christina Shala

    Recent Post

    Quick Links


    FSL Resources
    ESL Resources
    Beginning Readers
    Consulting Services

    Have a Question?

    CONTACT US
Vertical Divider
Vertical Divider
OUR COMPANY
About
Blog
FAQ
Contact
Opportunities
Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
FSL Resources
ESL Resources
Emergent Readers
Transitional Readers
​Educator Resources​
Consulting Services
Vertical Divider
CONNECT WITH US
© Copyright 2023  Education by Shala Books Inc.