How to Help your Child Read a Newspaper

Teaching a child practice reading can be a difficult task, but education is everywhere. Even a newspaper can be fundamental in teaching children how to read. It will allow them to get in touch with the habit of reading and cultivate a positive outlook on reading.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Let your child flip through a newspaper and find the section she likes. Newspapers are fun because their information is designed to be easily absorbed. Also, your child might have some insight on what she's reading because of similar stories on television.

2. Discover how the reader sees the words he reads by asking these questions:
   Why is this word pronounced this way?
   Do you understand what that word means?
   What smaller root-words are used to make this word?

3. Make them rewrite the words they don't understand. If a child is having trouble with a word you picked out of the newspaper or newsletter, then you should make them rewrite it and sound it out until they get the word. If you do it with them and make it a game, they will not be bored with reading and writing.

4. The sports section has names and pictures of people they see on television and know already by heart. So if you use the familiarity of the celebrities to enhance their reading- chances are they will be more proficient in reading.

5. Build a bigger vocabulary with word jumbles and crossword puzzles. These puzzles are fun and encourage complex thought, as well as help children understand synonyms.

6. Retell stories. Have the child retell the story in his own words. This demonstrates reading comprehension and supplies the basic knowledge for his own writing.

[isatoy]

on 1/27/2009 Great article. Useful.