I know this may sound like a silly question but it really is the key to helping someone (of any age), learn to read. So... ask yourself the question: What is reading? In order to answer the question, sit down and think about exactly what you are doing when you are reading a book, a note, an email, a grocery list, a document or any other type of printed word. If you really think about it, you are using your own background information (pragmatic cueing system) to help you to read the words. You are also using your understanding of how the language is put together to form complete thoughts and sentences (syntactic cueing system). You are using your own knowledge of the sounds letters make to form words (graphophonic cueing system) or you may have already memorized hundreds or thousands of whole words; and lastly you are using your understanding of the context of the language and the meaning of various words (semantic cueing system) to understand the message of the text. Right? ...
Reading really can be a natural process if you begin to immerse your child in language from the time he or she makes an entrance into the world. (I am going to use the female pronoun here just to be concise but this goes for boys and girls!) By singing songs to your child, talking to her in the car, the grocery store and just about anywhere you go- your child will begin to develop the foundation for learning to read and write well. I know this first step sounds really simple, and guess what?? It is! I have raised two readers of my own and now have a five year old grandson who is also a reader. If that doesn't sound like a very good set of credentials, I've also been a teacher and teacher educator since 1987 and my doctorate is in this field. I will say that you don't need a college degree to teach your child to read; you just need the right tools and a fun spirit. So.... let's get this blog started and talk to each other about literacy- and I do me...
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