Parents are a child's first teachers. Just as they introduce their children to spoken language, parents can help lay a solid foundation for children learning how to read written language. There are many ways for parents to understand the basics of learning to read and to use natural opportunities as lessons in reading.

Parents can have a strong, positive influence on their child's reading. Research has shown that enjoying books with a child for even a few minutes a day can make a measurable difference in the acquisition of basic reading skills, and that everyday activities--such as a trip to the grocery store--can be turned into an enjoyable learning experience.

READING is a complex process that develops over a long period of time and through extensive practice. Early stages of reading development are enhanced by instruction that teaches children the alphabet, the relationship between speech and print, and that the letters in written language convey thoughts and meanings. With practice and continued instruction, readers become fluent decoders and comprehenders of increasingly more complex books. As readers mature, they explore ever more complex ideas and material, moving from "learning to read" in the early
grades to "reading to learn" in the upper elementary and beyond.How can parents encourage the development of the skills needed by young children learning to read?

CREATE APPRECIATION OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Find time to read aloud with your child every day. Lap time reading with picture books and stories can strongly motivate a young child to enjoy reading. Show how important reading is to daily life.

LEARN THE ALPHABET

Play alphabet games. Sing the alphabet song to help your child learn letters as you play with alphabet books, blocks, and magnetic letters. Recite letters as you go up and down stairs or give pushes on a swing. Games, puzzles, books on tape, and A-B-C, dot-to-dot, and letter-play books are available at most toy stores. Many engaging computer games designed for teaching children letters are also available.

DEVELOP AWARENESS OF PRINTED LANGUAGE

Teach about books. When reading aloud, let your child open the book and turn the pages. Point to the words as you read. Draw attention to repeated phrases, inviting your child to join in each time they occur.

Point out letters and words that you see in daily life. Make an obvious effort to read aloud traffic signs, billboards, notices, labels on packages, maps, and phone numbers. Show your child how printed words relate to daily living both at home, while traveling to and from home, and elsewhere. Make writing materials available to your child and encourage their use. Help your child learn to write his/her name and other important words or phrases. Gradually, help the child learn to write more and more letters. At first, most children find it easier to write uppercase letters.

UNDERSTAND THAT WORDS ARE MADE OF LETTERS

Teach your child to spell a few special words, such as his/her name, "stop", or "exit." Challenge a child to read these words every place they are seen. Draw attention to these and other frequently occurring words as you read books with your child. Challenge the child to read these words as they arise or to search them out on a page.

Play word-building games with letter tiles or magnetic letters. Have the child build strings of letters for you to read.

UNDERSTAND THAT LANGUAGE IS MADE OF WORDS, PHONEMES (SOUNDS IN SPOKEN
LANGUAGE), AND SYLLABLES

Sing songs and read rhyming books. Sing the alphabet with your child, and teach your child songs that emphasize rhyme and alliteration, such as "Willaby Wallaby Woo" and "Down by the Sea." Emphasize the sounds as you sing. Play rhyming games and clap out names. Jumble the wording or word order of familiar poems and challenge your child to detect the error. Talk like a robot, syllable by syllable, and use language in fun and interesting ways.

PLAY WORD GAMES, CHALLENGE YOUR CHILD TO PLAY WITH WORDS

For example, ask your child to think of words that rhyme with "bat" or begin /m/. What would be left if you took the /k/ sound out of "cat"? What would you have if you put these sounds together: /p/ and ickle; /m/ and ilk; and /s/,/a/,and /t/. Which of these words starts with a different sound-"bag," "candy," "bike"? Do "boat" and "baby" start with the same sound?

LEARN LETTER SOUNDS

Sound out letters. Point out other words that begin with the same letter as your child's name, drawing attention to similarities of the beginning sound. Use alphabet books, computer games, or car games such as "I'm thinking of something that starts with /b/" to engage the child in alliterative and letter-sound play. If you have a book that lends itself to alliteration and rhyme, such as a Dr. Suess book, sound out rhyming words as you read or challenge the child to do so for you. Play word games that connect sounds with syllables and words. For example, if this spells "cat," how do you spell "hat"?

SOUND OUT NEW WORDS

Point out new words. As you encounter them, say the sound while touching each letter in a new word. For example, say "s-u-n" and then blend sounds to create the words. In practicing new words, use predictable words with common sounds and spellings, like "fun" or "sat" instead of "night" or "saw."

In you encounter words with unknown meanings or with complex spellings, encourage your child to try to sound out the words. However, if too many words require this kind of attention and effort, it is best to find an easier book.

Play spelling games with your child. After your child begins pronouncing words, encourage spelling by saying each sound in the words and then writing the letter that goes with the sound.

Encourage your child to spell. After your child has learned to pronounce words, have the child say each sound.

INDEPENDENT WRITING

Encourage your child to use inventive or independent spelling. At early stages, the child will tend to omit letters and confuse letter names and letter sounds, producing such spellings as "lent" foe elephant, "say" for bean, and "fare" for fairy. Encourage your child to look at how words are spelled and assist him/her in learning word patterns and families in later spelling development stages.

IDENTIFY WORDS IN PRINT ACCURATELY AND EASILY

Help your children to read easy, enjoyable stories as often as possible. It is likely that your child will enjoy reading more and learn more from reading of you sit together, taking turns reading and encouraging discussion. In the beginning, invite the child to read-well chosen books.

Gradually, as the child becomes able, take turns with sentences, paragraphs, and pages. At the end of each section or story, revisit those words that cause trouble. Rereading the entire story over and over several days, and again weeks later, is a powerful way to reinforce this learning.

LEARN TO READ REFLECTIVELY

Pause for discussions as you read. As you read stories to and with your child, stop frequently to discuss their language, content, and relevance to real life and other knowledge. Pause to explore the meaning of new words, using them in other sentences and contrasting what they mean with words that have similar meanings. Make an effort to revisit new words and concepts later, when the book has been put aside.

Above all: Read, Read, and Re-Read