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Most people will have forgotten how they began to read at a very young age – it almost feels like it comes naturally. But there are a lot of methods your teachers and parents will have employed to teach you how to understand words on a page, spellings and pronunciations.
From this private girls school we’ve broken down the best ways to teach your child to read at home and how they can better improve their reading skills ready for the classroom.
Practice phonemics with your child
Reading aloud to your child is one of the first ways children learn about the different sounds that letters and words make. It’s also one of the first ways to lead your child through reading for themselves – they begin to learn the connection between the two.
You can use a number of activities to trial this with your child, like vowel sounds, how consonants work and putting them into sentences.
Use songs or nursery rhymes
There are lots of songs and rhymes that children learn throughout school that can be used at home too. Their favourite TV programmes will also have their own songs that children can use to help their reading ability – the use of subtitles and a guide on the screen that children can follow also help with this.
Repeating these songs in unison will give children the awareness of different words and the sounds they make, improving their reading ability and speaking skills.
Play word matching games
Matching games are a really good way to reinforce spelling and comprehension skills. You can use flash cards, prefix matching games and code games to practice with children that they’re remembering what they read.
You should play word games on a regular basis so that children can continue to practice when they’re in the car, on a walk or doing any activity with you and/or your family. That way, they can return with a fresh pair of eyes when doing their reading exercises.
