You don’t have to just stick to the story. You can pause and use rich vocabulary to describe the pictures, or voices to describe the character. This will help stimulate the child’s imagination, too.
Board books and cloth books are great for infants and toddlers. These books will hold up better than paperback or hardcover copies, and the thicker pages make it easier for children to turn the pages. As the child gets a bit older, focus on rhyming books like Dr. Seuss or books that have songs like “Barnyard Dance” or “Snuggle Puppy” by Sandra Boynton. Get a library card. Take the child on regular visits to your local library. Go to the children’s section and let the child pick the book he wants to read. Once a week on a set date (Friday after school for example) is also a good way to get into a structured routine. It’s alright if he is a bit too old for the book or has already read it. When he is a bit older, let him check out the book at the front desk, but always under your supervision.
Start with an alphabet book. Make it fun by playing games. You can get some alphabet letters for the fridge, or cut out a bunch of letter shapes and decorate them with objects that begin with each letter. For example, cut out a letter S shapes and have him decorate it by gluing sunflower seeds or applying star stickers.
Teach the child how to pronounce each phoneme. Focus on one letter at a time and teach the child how to pronounce them correctly. Say the letter, then tell him the sound it makes. For example, “the letter A makes an ah sound. Then give him examples of words that start with that sound such as apple or ant. There are a lot of great apps that have fun games to help teach a child phonemic awareness, many of them such as ABC Genius and Build A Word Express are even free to download.
Put one syllable words together in a two or three word sentence. Have the child practice reading the sentence by sounding out each word. Try working with some of the pages in the Spot series by Eric Hill. They have many sentences of short, one syllable words. Once he has the hang of sounding out one syllable words, add another syllable. Keep challenging the child to sound out longer words.
There are a number of books that focus on teaching sight words. Often times books with sight words will indicate that on the cover. Use cards with sight words on them and help the child put them alongside the objects they represent. Eventually the child will begin to associate the written word with the object on their own. Use flashcards to teach sight words. Show the child the card and pronounce the word. Spell it out and use it in a sentence. Then go through and have the child say the word, spell the word and use the word in a sentence. Repeat until the child can identify all the cards. Play games to help the child learn, like bingo. [9] X Research source Mark the spaces on a bingo board with sight words, then call the words out. The child must identify the word on his card and mark it. Point out word families. Word families are groups of words that rhyme. Make sure the child notices words that rhyme, such as cat, pat, hat. Once, the child sees the words written and hears the similarity of sounds he will begin to identify the at sound and how it appears when written.
When your child pauses, immediately provide the word for him and let him move on. Underline or circle in pencil the words he initially cannot read. Go back and review any incorrect words and help read the words correctly.
