Teach Your Child to Read - Dos + Don'ts

One of the freedoms of homeschooling is teaching our children to read. And intentionally doing it better than many schools in America are doing it today. If you forgot how you learned how to read, don't worry. I will review the top DOs and DON'Ts of teaching early readers. 

Some older grandparents may remember a different way of teaching and learning to read that was called phonics historically. Some parents received that instruction through a program that still exists today called Hooked on Phonics. Essentially, that's what we should all be doing - teaching kids to sound out words until they are able to read fluently or sound natural when they read because their brain has locked in words. There is a movement or resurgence of science of reading research in the education world that has made it's way into the homeschool community as it should. This science of reading research is a compilation of research that says there are effective and ineffective ways to teach children how to read English. Even if you learned to read via one of these inefficient methods, it does not mean it was the best or only way to instruct a child. The below recommendations are based on the science of reading research on what does work.

How to Teach Reading: DO

1. Do teach your child to associate letter symbols with sounds.
2. Do focus on 3 to 5 sounds at a time.
3. Do teach your child to sound out words.
4. Do teach your child that words are made up of parts called syllables.
5. Do support your early reader by reading unfamiliar, irregular words for them. Not all words can be sounded out immediately by early readers. 
6. Do research on what order of letters/sounds you want to teach. This is often called a scope and sequence. Look for a "structured literacy" approach.
7. Do support your early reader with decodable texts or short stories that focus on one new skill at a time. These texts are different from traditional children's picture books. Search "decodable" books to find different resources online including free options.
8. Do ask other adults in your child's community for support. Support can come as read alouds or just asking your child to show off what they have learned.
9. Do immerse your child in literacy activities and language exploration. For example, play rhyming games, read aloud picture books, notice the sounds in words, notice letters in signs, play sound games, and go to the library or bookstores regularly. There's so much to do, but try to have fun with it!
   
   

How to Teach Reading: DO NOT

1. Do not teach the whole alphabet at the same time. The alphabet song is a great fun way to expose children to the name of letters and alphabetical order, but it will not help your child learn to read.
2. Do not encourage your young reader to guess unknown words using visual clues from pictures or the first letter.
3. Do not teach children to guess with contextual clues from the part of the sentence they already read, instead of sounding words out.
4. Do not teach or focus on sight words. This is essentially when parents are recommended long lists of words children are expected to memorize as if they are pictures instead of patterns of letters that represent sounds.
5. Do not push your child to learn in traditional environments only. They do not need to sit at a desk or table to learn to read. They do not need to be inside. They can take books and literacy tools outside. 

Next Steps

Parents cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the many programs and teaching methods that do not work for all children even if schools continue to do so. Stay away from sight word lists. That’s the wrong way to approach reading. If the program does not teach sounds and syllable patterns in a structured way and eaching readers to guess whole words, then it’s not going to work for all kids. 

Still on the fence? This is how a leading reading researcher summarized the early reading research:

“Bottom line? It is still a good idea to explicitly teach kids to hear the sounds within words (phonemic awareness), to decode (phonics), to read text aloud accurately, with appropriate speed, and with expression (fluency), to know the meanings of words, and to use reading strategies when reading text in order to understand it better (reading comprehension).”

— Dr. Timothy Shanahan, Reading Researcher

You can do your own investigation of the research. The Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read (2000) was one of the most comprehensive research studies of effective reading instruction at the time of publication and to date. This report was and panel was convened at the request of the US Congress. Read to learn the report’s analysis of scientific research literature and outline of what evidence-based and effective reading instruction looks and sounds like for the English language. Read to learn why this report, published in 2000, continues to be applicable in 2021. We have had the scientific answer for what works for decades. 

So what do I think parents should do? Get trained. We can all teach our children to read today with the many tools and books available on the internet. There are trainings for parents that want to teach their child to read based on the scientific research of what works. Training does not mean a college course. Parent training should provide quick reminders like this article that reading is not a natural skill and if we are intentional about it we can all do it. 

Take one step at a time. Reading is a long game and you only need to be one to two steps ahead of your child.

Let’s teach our children to read at home. Start teaching today. You can do it! If you are interested in learning more about the framework and methods I used to teach my toddler to read, I created a “Teach My Child to Read: A Mommy + Me Coloring Book” to support families beginning their early reading journey. I offer additional early reading tools via Indyed based in the science of reading research and my experiences as a homeschool mom, dyslexia tutor, and special education teacher.