• Home
  • Login
  • Registration
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS
ESLarticle.com
Tweet
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Blog
  • Members
  • Add Article

Top Categories

Teaching 509
Other 210
Classroom Management 138
Career Development 135
Learning Methodology 121
Study Skills 90
E-Learning/CALL 87
English Language Learning (ELL) 78
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) 77
Teaching Methodology 76
English Language Teaching (ELT) 73
English as a Second Language (ESL) 64
Teach in Shanghai
Home / Articles / Teaching / Reading / View Article

Publishing

  • Articles
  • Add Article
  • Articles Archive
  • Latest Articles
  • Popular Articles

Latest Articles

Jan 5, 2019

Metacognition in Reading Competency

As related to the reading process, metacognition can be defined as contemplation concerning one's own thinking processes or knowledge of one's own...

Jan 5, 2019

Mass Media Literacy Reflections for Language Instructions

"You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself." Galileo Galilei Mass media forms thrive today. As development...

Nov 30, 2018

Ideas for the First Class with New Learners

~~The first class with new learners can be an anxious one for all concerned – teacher as well as learners. Below are some tips to make that first...

Nov 19, 2018

10 Amazing Hacks for English Learners

10 Amazing Hacks for English Learners It is estimated that there are over a billion English speakers in the world, including native speakers,...

Nov 15, 2018

Building Reading and Writing Knowledge with Very Young Children at Hom

Education Today, December 2013 Building Reading and Writing Knowledge with Very Young Children at Home  Timothy G. Weih University of Northern...

Popular Articles

1144522 Views

5 Creative Ways to Decorate Your Classroom Bulletin Board This Winter

Back to school, fall leaves, Thanksgiving and Christmas all easily lend themselves to great decorating themes, but what to do when those are over...

383237 Views

Three Unique Ideas To Make Your Bulletin Board More Useful

Bulletin boards have long been existent in campuses. They have proven to be such versatile and useful aids in both the learning and teaching...

141003 Views

History of the Chalkboard

Walk into just about any classroom and you will find one: A dark green board on the wall, lined with pieces of chalk and felt erasers. Chalkboards,...

65306 Views

Report Card Comments

For a small minority, writing report cards isn't a big deal. But most teachers generally dread report card writing time. Completing the comment...

49456 Views

Second Language Acquisition: Swain's Output Vs Krashen's Input

1. Introduction: Input versus Output. A general overview In order to assess how compatible Krashen's and Swain's views are, it is essential to...


Reading Readiness Secrets for Home School Parents

by Michael Levy

Jan 21, 2009 Reading 18304 Views

_notregistered/art_802_f482ada647~.jpg
Experts in child development often say that parents are the first educators. And, whether parents elect to traditionally educate their children or dedicate a significant portion of their own time, effort, and resources to homeschool their children, the simple truth is that parents can, should, and do begin educating their children long before they introduce any sort of formal education.

Many parents, especially new and homeschooling parents, hesitate to "push" a child into reading before they are "ready." However, reading is merely a visual representation of the spoken word. And, just as we teach our children to talk and the appropriate words for objects and people, we can begin early to teach our children how letters (i.e., symbols) represent certain sounds, and when those letter symbols are grouped, they form words. This natural education process is less "pushing" than it is simple language acquisition. Some educators and experts refer to this process as pre-reading.

Pre-reading Leads to Reading Success

Pre-reading activities begin early and most parents aren't even aware they are preparing their young children to read. Parents might sing the alphabet song to help a cranky baby get to sleep. A child's nursery might be adorned with an ABC border. Colorful magnetic letters might litter the refrigerator waiting for parent and child to make words. These seemingly obtuse activities are what prepare children to learn to read.

Pre-reading is really all about exposing the child to both spoken and written language. Parents can set their children up for success without pushing by making sure that they have the maximum exposure to these activities. Technology has even given children a new opportunity for early learning called syllabics. Syllabics, which focuses on the sounds associated with all letters, or phonics, which deals mainly with the sounds associated with the consonants, can be easily learned with readily available preschool computer software.

Pre-reading, Games, and Conversation

Even before children learn to talk, parents naturally set them up for verbal communication. How many times have we all witnessed parents who talk to their children while dressing them? That parent might say something like "Here's your pretty pink dress!" or "Would you like to wear the red shirt or the green one?" Those parents who talk often with their children long before the kids can hold up their own end of the conversation are, almost stealthily, teaching their children pre-reading skills.

Another way young children learn pre-reading skills is through exposure to those well-recognized early reader board books. These books, made from thick cardboard and easy for less-than-nimble fingers to manipulate have simple, colorful pictures and short, basic words. They help pre-readers learn to associate words with objects and people in a different way than they were learning when they held an object in their hands while mom or dad told them what that object was or when they began learning that people had names and titles.

Measuring Pre-reading Success

The success of a parent's pre-reading instruction can actually be measured. In general, children who have had lots of pre-reading activity exposure begin speaking earlier than children who have not. Consider that research indicates that parents who speak to their children often seem to have kids who begin to speak at an earlier age. Parents who limit how much they speak to their very young children might notice that those children are "late" talkers.

Children learn quickly and naturally, given the opportunity. And, although parents might be hesitant to push their children into learning, they must also understand that it is their responsibility to give their children the tools they need to develop the proper pre-reading skills. Providing children with fun and interesting ways to develop language skills is very different from requiring a minimum number of formal teaching hours for pre-reading children. One scenario can be identified as learning fun. The second might be more along the lines of the "pushing" that parents are trying to avoid. Knowing the difference between the two can set the stage for reading success.

Article source: http://eslarticle.com/pub/teaching/reading/802-reading-readiness-secrets-for-home-school-parents.html

  • General Information
  • Pictures
Author Info

Author Name: Michael Levy

About Author: Michael Levy is a well-known teacher and university researcher who has published more than 250 articles about learning. His latest project is Reading Buddy 2.0, software for teaching children to learn to read basic English using the innovative syllabics m

General

Pictures:

Most Recent Articles

  • Jan 5, 2019 Metacognition in Reading Competency by Michael Levy
  • Oct 5, 2014 Pedagogical Practices For Early Readers by Michael Levy
  • Mar 4, 2014 How Do I Teach My Child To Read? by Michael Levy
  • Sep 4, 2013 5 Greatest The Books Of All Time For Every Generation by Michael Levy
  • Aug 18, 2013 Providing Background Information When Teaching Literature by Michael Levy

Actions

  • Print Page

Articles Archive

  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • December 2021

Random Articles

Learning Methodology

Key Learning Skills

Learning takes place through the active behavior of the learner. It requires the ability of the learners to plan how to meet their targets, follow...

Writing

Differentiating Writing in the Classroom

For the purpose of this article, integrating writing and differentiation into your classroom, I have designed techniques that meet most writing...

TOEFL/TOEIC/IELTS

Easiest Route to Prepare for IELTS Speaking Test

Speaking Test in IELTS can be intimidating for many of the candidates. In fact, there are many candidates who speak and understand English well but...

Other

Changing the Education System by Creating Better Learning Situations

I meet a lot of parents, teachers and students. All have the same questions about school policies and they want to hear my visions about how...

Teaching

Are You Thinking About Becoming a Teacher?

Having retired from public education after about 35 years in the classroom, I encountered withdrawal and so returned as a volunteer, guest...

About ESL Article

ESL Article is a private ESL/TEFL site designed and maintained by educators and educational administrators. It was launched in August 2008 with the aim of bringing ESL/TEFL students, parents, teachers and schools information and articles about the teaching profession and learning community.

Icon Group Member

ESL Article is a member of Icon Group Thailand (IGT), a group of ESL TEFL TESOL websites providing educational resources and information to teachers, schools and students around the world. The group was founded in 2003 and now includes 15+ websites covering educational information services, teaching resources and e-learning.

What is ESL?

English as a second language (ESL) is the use or study of English by speakers of different native languages. It is also known as English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), English as an additional language (EAL), and English as a foreign language (EFL).

  • Home
  • Registration
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Help
  • Partner
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
​

© 2022 ESLarticle.com.
Member of Icon Group Thailand - Educating the Future:
TESall All TESOL  Total ESL  ESL Job Feed
TEFL World  TEFL Jobs Overseas  Teach Overseas
Asia TEFL  ESL Powerpoint  Teacher Training