Raul Said:

I just bought Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons. Help me use it with my 1st and 3rd graders please

We Answered:

I've used this book with several of my students. It is not one of my favorites, but it does work well with some kids. You can start teaching them together, but may need to do it separately when one becomes more advanced. It is important to start at the beginning for best results, but you can take less time on the earlier lessons if they already have these skills. It will still be good review.
Good Luck

Alfredo Said:

At what point did you start teaching your child to read? Did you use any special books/ program?

We Answered:

We started at 3 with learning the alphabet....then at 4 (and now 5) he wants to read everything.....street signs, books etc. it's a slow process but fun!

Good Luck~~

Alma Said:

Homeschooling parents, how did you teach your child to read?

We Answered:

We used a combination of approaches. No one method works for every child. Some thrive on phonics; some do better with memorization or other methods. The more ways you read to him and encourage him to read, the faster he'll catch on to reading.

We read a LOT to the children. No special books. Library books of all sorts. Fiction and nonfiction. Stories, poems, articles. Fun, silly stories and more serious ones. Books the kids picked out and ones I picked out.

I also printed out a copy of the Dolch Sight Word list. (Google it. It's available for free on the internet from lots of sites. It's a list of the most common words in English--words that fluent readers will memorize.) I made flashcards for the first few words and went over them again and again until the child memorized them and then added on some new words.

While reading, I would point out a word. (Randomly picked a word to focus on. Would point it out when encountered and tell the child the word. After doing that a bunch of times, I would point the word out and ask the child if he knew the word and would eventually reach the point of reading the story but having the child read just that one particular word--so the child was "helping" me read the story.) After the child knew that particular word on several different days, then I'd pick a new word to work on.

We played word games. I drew a tic-tac-toe style board and put words in the squares. Then we'd play a game but you had to be able to say the word to put your marker on the space. (Lots of high-fives and cheering when the child read a word correctly.) Did similarly with a bingo-style board, too.

Watched lots of DVDs such as the Leap Frog series. When the child knows his letters and sounds, continue to sometimes watch "The Letter Factory" but also move on to ones that cover more advanced phonics skills.

Get an inexpensive phonics workbook. Most discount stores sell them. Work on them sometimes.

Practice sounding out words using phonics' rules. Whether sounding out words you encounter in books you are reading, or just practice with random words. Sometimes have the child sound out letters written on different cards and then change one of the cards to another letter and have him sound out the new word--so he can see how changing one letter changes the sound of the word.

Most librarians will show you where to find books specially designed for beginning readers--ones with simple vocabulary that the child can read by sounding out words. (They are often rated by levels, with level 1 being the level to start with. When the child can read them without help, then move up to the next level.)

Make reading seem like fun. Give books as gifts. Go to the library and story times often. Be too busy sometimes to interact with your child because you are reading a good book--after all, kids want to do what grownups do. Every now and then, read a simple book and sudenly stop at an interesting point and get busy doing something else--sometimes this motivates a child to read the rest to get the ending of the story.

Read a lot to the child. Even when he seems to be reading entire books on his own, keep reading to him. He'll learn to read better. He'll learn higher level vocabulary that will help him improve his own reading. And he'll get to hear more interesting stories than he can manage on his own.

Keep lots of books in the house. If you read a lot to a child and have lots of books in the house, he will eventually figure out how to read.

Good luck!

Heather Said:

Teaching your child to read...?

We Answered:

Check out the program "Frontline Phonics". It's awesome. I heard about it from a friend who taught her daughter to read with it. I found it used on eBay for a great discount. Brand new it is pricey, but it is still worth it. I used it for my girls and they loved it! It really kept their attention and they were always excited for reading time. It really works, it has cute songs they can sing along to to learn the sounds of the letters, and just everything about it is really clever. However it is very easy for a parent to follow along. They will be reading fairly quickly. Good luck with what ever you do.

Clyde Said:

Teaching Your Child To Read - Are There Any Parent-Friendly Programs For Teaching Your Child To Read?

We Answered:

My personal favorite is a program called Little Reader. It's an innovative, fun, easy program that can really help teach your baby to read. My own boy is 2 years old, and after a lot of frustrating sessions with cards and stuff, I was recommended the Reader by a friend who teaches kindergarten. It's been a great time saver (life saver, if I might add) and good fun for junior and mommy :)

Erik Said:

How early should you start teaching your child to read?

We Answered:

More important than learning to read is developing a love for books and reading. Kids will learn to love books long before they recognize their first word.

Kids are all over the board in reading readiness, so there's no one right answer on how old your child should be when you start to teach him. Get them to love books, and their developmental readiness will tell you when they're ready.

My kids are in 2nd grade. Some kids in their class have been reading since they were 3 (not my kids) and some kids are just learning to really read now. All kids are normal, but the one thing our school stresses is that kids learn to love books. Even my 2 seven year olds are at different stages, but they both love books. Virtually every child will learn to read by the time their in high school, but the best thing you can do for them is foster a hunger for reading, reading and reading more!

I learned to read at the regular time, but never really like reading. To this day, I realize that had I read more, so many subjects would have been easier -- English, History, essay writing, etc.

So I'd concentrate less on the mechanics of reading, unless your child is showing a real interest. Once they show interest (and it might not be until they start to learn in school, which is fine), then show them the basics. But as a parent, you can do much more by finding fun and interesting books, and reading with your child, whether it's you reading to them, or them reading alone or with you.

Alan Said:

What would be the earliest age to teach your child to read?

We Answered:

Reading to him every night is wonderful! That's the very best thing to do at this age.
If he shows an interest at about age 2 and a half, try the preschool Hooked on Phonics. Don't push it, make it fun and see if he's ready. If not, lay off and try again later.
Reading to your child every night is the best thing to introduce reading. When he starts "pretend reading" to himself then take it a step further.