It is exhilarating to watch your child begin to read independently. Children (rightfully) feel an extraordinary sense of pride in their accomplishments. However, having an emergent reader also creates new challenges for parents. Many parents can feel overwhelmed at this stage. Teachers are suddenly talking about phonemic awareness, levels and other words that they have never heard before. While it sounds impressive what does it mean? How can you help your child become a better reader? Here is a basic primer to guide you through this stage.
Reading independently is a culmination of a huge number of skills that students learn in kindergarten, first and second grade1. By the end of second grade, your child should have transitioned from learning-to-read (figuring out what a text says and what that means) to reading-to-learn (using text to learn new ideas).
The process begins in kindergarten with learning to identify letters and their sounds and with learning to hear, identify and manipulate sounds in words. This process, known as phonemic awareness, is what allows you to know that fat and hat rhyme, as well as come up with an additional rhyme of your own. Additionally, students begin to learn to read common words automatically. A huge percentage of early reading materials are made up of a relatively small number of common words (often referred to as high-frequency or sight words). Knowing these words well help students read smoothly and build confidence.
Parents of a child at this stage can work directly on skills with their child (practice letters or high frequency words), however it is much more important to read to them. When you read to a child you are showing them how it is done. You are letting them soak up a story or new information. Most children crave being read to. If time is an issue, consider getting books on CD from the library which will read to your child when you can’t.
Next, students learn to break a written word into its sounds. This is called decoding. Sometimes a sound is one letter and sometimes it is more (i.e., sh). This is when you look at the word cat and say c says k, a says aa and t says tuh. Then they learn to combine these sounds into a word. Blending, as this is known, is when you put together the k-aa-tuh sounds back together to form the word cat.
Once students master these skills they are able to read independently. They can look at new words and figure out what they say. As they become better readers, they get better at recognizing not only letters, but groups of letters and the sounds they make. For example, they will learn that ai makes a long a sound and that igh makes a long I sound. They will continue to grow in their abilities and their confidence.
As students begin to read fluently, a growing emphasis is placed on making sure they understand the words they are reading. They learn many skills, such as stopping to ask questions, summarizing, comparing and contrasting–all helping them to comprehend what they are reading. Reading smoothly and understanding what you are reading are the two pillars of reading. Both are critical to success. These two main skills are what a teacher measures when s/he gauges a child’s reading level. There are many metrics that can be used (Fountas & Pinnell, DRA, Lexile, Reading A-Z, etc.), but all of them are based on a combination of fluency and comprehension.
At these stages it is critical that you sit with your child as s/he reads. Your being there will force him/her to read out loud. You can ask questions to make sure s/he understands and help when s/he gets stuck.
Many parents want to know if they should correct their children’s reading and when. A good principle is that you want them to be working, but not frustrated. If they read a word wrong, gently tell them to try that word again. If they still can’t get it, help them break the word into its sounds and put those sounds back into a word. Encourage them to look at the illustrations and pictures in the book to help them. If they are getting agitated or just still can’t get it, tell them the word and encourage them to go on. When they are not having trouble with fluency, let them read on their own but ask them what they read. If a child can read all the words, but cannot tell you anything about what s/he read, then s/he is not reading the right book.
Your child’s teacher should be able to tell you what reading level your child is on. This will help you know what kinds of books to get. At home it is recommended to go one level below what your children are reading in school because that is the level they can read at independently. Finding just right books is easy, if you know what resources are available. Many libraries are beginning to organize their collection by reading level. If not, they usually have lists of recommendations for each level. Ask the librarian in the children’s section for help in selecting books. Another option is to use Scholastic Book Wizard, an online resource that includes thousands of titles and what level they are. It lets you search a book to ascertain its level. It also has an option to list books by level and by genre within each level. Other resources, such as Common Sense Media, can help you know what is in the book your child is reading without having to read the book yourself.
Learning to read is one of the most basic academic skills. As a parent, you are the most important advocate for your child. If you are concerned by his/her progress (or lack thereof), reach out to his or her teacher. Teachers are always happy to give guidance about supplemental work that can be done at home. Make sure that your child is reading books that are just right for him/her. Happy reading!
Esther Wachstock teaches second grade at Yeshivat He’Atid. She has been teaching for nine years and has an MA in Jewish Education from the Azrieli School of Jewish Education.
1 I am not discussing the invaluable pre-reading skills that are learned in Pre-K .These skills lay a foundation for reading, however they are often not “reading skills”.
By Esther Wachstock
