How to Help Children With Reading and Writing

Learning to read and write is a fun and exciting pursuit for young children and the adults that help them. Elementary school teachers are not the only adults who can help a child read and write. Parents, guardians, tutors, older siblings and other grown-ups in a child's life are an integral part in helping him or her learn to read and write. Using the right tools and techniques, anybody with a loving and encouraging attitude can help a child develop reading and writing skills.

Things You'll Need

• Watercolor paints
• Sidewalk chalk
• Pen and paper
• Picture books

Instructions

1. 

   Write out each letter (upper and lowercase) for the child, and ask her to copy each letter you write. Explain the difference between upper and lowercase letters and tell the child the different sounds each letter makes. To make this activity more fun, use watercolor paints or sidewalk chalk.

2. As the child gets better at identifying different letters, write a letter at random and ask the child to tell you what letter it is and what sound(s) it makes.

3. Read to the child every day, following the sentences with your finger as you read. This will show the child that sentences and words are read from left to right. Re-read the same book several times so that the child begins to know the story well and recognize some of the words or phrases.

4. Once the child is familiar with a particular book, invite him to recite familiar words and phrases along with you. Discuss the book with the child and ask him questions about the plot line and about what he thinks is coming next.

5. Allow the child to look at books on her own, even if she can't quite read by herself yet. If the child has difficulty pronouncing a word, do not instantly tell her how to pronounce it. Ask her to sound out the word for herself. If she still does not pronounce it right, explain how the word is pronounced and why.

6. Be encouraging. If the child pronounces a word wrong, correct him in a positive way. For example, "That was so close, Jimmy! You're right, sometimes the letter 'C' makes a 'k' sound, but in this word, it makes a 's' sound."

References

• University of Delaware: Read Write Now
• Iowa State University: Learning to Read and Write

Resources

• Starfall