Written By: P.V.Ananthalakshmi Principal, Helikx Open School
Picture Courtesy: Aravinth Anbalagan (Our Former Student)
Reading ismaking meaning from text. What this means is that reading is not just sounding out letters or saying the words on paper. Instead, reading is one’s ability to understand what the text is “saying” i.e., comprehension.
Children learn to speak easily any language within their home setting, but do not learn to read naturally.
What are pre-reading skills?
Pre reading skills are the skills children need in order to help them to become a reader. The phrase pre-reading skills are often interchanged with other phrases such as emergent reading skills, reading readiness, early literacy, pre-literacy skills and early reading.There are many pre-reading skills include interest and motivation to read, oral language and narrative skills, book and print awareness, phonemic awareness and letter knowledge. As children learn to read, they must have the skills and knowledge that help not only decode the text but also make meaning from it. Also, trying to teach a child who has not demonstrated a grasp on pre-reading skills to read can lead to frustration and anxiety for the young child—it isn’t developmentally appropriate.
Activities to improve your Childs pre-reading Skills
Matching
When we read, part of what we do involves matching. Children learn to match shapes, patterns, letters and, finally, words. Activities like card games, Dominoes, matching shapes, pictures, letters ,jigsaw puzzles, shape sorters.
Rhyming
Research shows that children who can understand about rhyming words have a head start in learning to read and, even more, to spell. Singing nursery rhymes, encouraging the children to sing along with you, missing the end of a rhyme for the child to complete and playing rhyming games.
Letter skills
As well as recognising letter shapes, learning the most common sounds that each letter makes will give children a head start. Teaching the letters ,sounds gradually. Use letter sounds rather than names .Letter sounds are much more useful in learning to read than names. teaching lower case letters to start with, except for the first letter of a name.
Direction
Print goes from left to right, so children will need to be familiar with where to start each line and which direction to go in. When reading to the child , follow the print with your finger. Then slowly we can ask the child where to start. Then introducing the activities which reinforce left-right direction.
Motor skills
Practicing writing letters and words as they learn to read them will help it all to sink in, so a good pencil grip and control is useful.Encouraging the child to draw, paint with different tools and materials. Playing with small toys, construction set. Child friendly scissors, playing with clay , sand writing so on.
Concept of print
This is all about knowing how to handle books – holding them the right way up, turning the pages in sequence, exploring the pictures, knowing that the words can be read to tell a story. Age-appropriate books with pictures with bold letters. Keep the books within the child's reach.Reading books along with them help how to handle the books.
The more experience children have of language, the more easily they will learn to read. Your child needs to hear and join in conversations (with adults and children), and listen to stories and poetry of all sorts. The more you talk ,the child will pick up the vocabulary. Encourage them to talk with other children and adults.
Many of the skills are learned naturally, in the course of normal childhood, at home and in the preschool environment. By talking and reading with your child, you will be doing a great deal to help these essential skills to develop
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