Teach Your Child How to Read Using Letters and Sounds
It is natural for parents to want the best for their children. To give their children the best possible opportunities, moms and dads really go out of their way to tutor their children and help them with their homework. This is based on the belief that the child must somehow always be more successful than his or her parents. To create the perfect foundation for success, the child must be proficient in spelling, reading, and comprehension.
Whole Language vs. Phonics
When a child learns to read using phonics, he is taught the pronunciation by dissecting the words into sections. In contrast, whole language focuses on comprehension and asks the child to do this intuitively. Right now, phonics is enjoying a resurgence as a teaching method, because so many children had atrocious spelling when the whole language method was used alone. Listed below are some reasons why you should buy phonic books and supplement your child’s education at home.
Phonics Pays Attention to Pronunciation
Exercises in phonics books break down the word in several parts. If it is an audio book or a computer program, it will voice each syllable by itself and then say the entire word. Because phonics books focus on a particular sounds for each story, your child learns how to say it. Examples of these would be short vowel, double vowel, consonant letter, silent e sounds, and many more. Because the child is taught a rule as well as the exceptions to the rule, it becomes easier for him to read on his own.
Phonics Makes Children Better Spellers
Being poor in spelling can hold a child back in school and in life. In a world where everything is communicated on the fly through SMS or email, expect people will judge your child based on his SMS or email communication. Some children may find phonics boring and formulaic, but that is only if you do not figure in some fun while they are learning it. Funny or creative phonics books can be an awesome way to ensure your child knows how to spell.
Unfamiliar Words will be Easier to Read when Your Child Knows Phonics
When your child knows sound-spelling rules, relationships, and patterns by heart, reading unfamiliar words will be easy as pie. Spelling and pronunciation rules is a lot like training wheels on a bike. It starts off as complicated with a lot of rules until one day, the rules simply become muscle memory. The goal is to get to the point where your child does not need to remember the specific rules on how to pronounce or spell certain words. Instead, when he encounters a new word, the rule just becomes a knee-jerk reaction.
Children who have a solid foundation in words and communication have an easier time expressing themselves and making friends. While there may be other ways to communicate ideas like paintings or interpretative dance, society generally looks at eloquence as a mark of an educated person. Creating the foundation for verbal intelligence starts when your child is still learning to read. You can do this by combining both the phonics and the whole language method and creating an environment where he develops a love for reading. Buy him a couple of Letters and Sounds today so you can practice letters and sounds.
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