We assume that because the child has been shown both capital and lowercase letters that they have learned them. This is not the case, and this is one of the first big mistakes often made in teaching reading. Just because your child can sing the alphabet song, does not mean that they know the alphabet letters and their sounds.
So, if you are teaching a preschool or kindergarten child, start with the alphabet. Teach both the capital letters and lowercase letters. Teach them separately. Then mix the capital and lowercase letters together, not in alphabetical order and not in pairs, to make sure that children can identify both capitals and lowercase letters. Rearrange the alphabet letters so that the child is looking at the letter and identifying the letter, not just remembering it from the song
Don’t try to teach reading before you have even laid the foundation for learning about words. Teach the alphabet first. Then, you will have a much stronger foundation for teaching reading later.
This is the kind of foundation that vowel clustering is built upon. Once the child has letter identity, letter shape, and letter sounds, then you are ready to introduce simple words, but not before. It’s like building a house. Build the foundation before you try to add the roof.
Handwriting and reading are connected, so, if you want to teach a child to read, you must also teach a child to write. Improving a child’s handwriting is one of the first steps in helping a child learn to read. It is not enough to just be able to sing the alphabet song; although, the alphabet song is very helpful in learning to alphabetize. To read, the student must also be able to identify and say the name of each alphabet letter. Then, the student must be able to write the letters correctly.
Teach handwriting on manuscript writing paper. I have children use paper that has half-inch ruling with a dotted midline. Yes, I know that it is hard to find supplies, and we are not allowed to go out shopping right now, so, if you need to, make your own manuscript paper. You can even use scrap paper or old left-over wrapping paper. Use the back of a page. Draw a baseline with a dotted midline and half-inch ruling between. Use a ruler and maybe a T-square, it’s not difficult to make your own paper. You might also find downloadable templates for manuscript paper. Make sure that they use half-inch ruling with a dotted line in the middle.
So, if you are teaching a preschool or kindergarten child, start with the alphabet. Teach both the capital letters and lowercase letters. Teach them separately. Then mix the capital and lowercase letters together, not in alphabetical order and not in pairs, to make sure that children can identify both capitals and lowercase letters. Rearrange the alphabet letters so that the child is looking at the letter and identifying the letter, not just remembering it from the song
Don’t try to teach reading before you have even laid the foundation for learning about words. Teach the alphabet first. Then, you will have a much stronger foundation for teaching reading later.
This is the kind of foundation that vowel clustering is built upon. Once the child has letter identity, letter shape, and letter sounds, then you are ready to introduce simple words, but not before. It’s like building a house. Build the foundation before you try to add the roof.
Handwriting and reading are connected, so, if you want to teach a child to read, you must also teach a child to write. Improving a child’s handwriting is one of the first steps in helping a child learn to read. It is not enough to just be able to sing the alphabet song; although, the alphabet song is very helpful in learning to alphabetize. To read, the student must also be able to identify and say the name of each alphabet letter. Then, the student must be able to write the letters correctly.
Teach handwriting on manuscript writing paper. I have children use paper that has half-inch ruling with a dotted midline. Yes, I know that it is hard to find supplies, and we are not allowed to go out shopping right now, so, if you need to, make your own manuscript paper. You can even use scrap paper or old left-over wrapping paper. Use the back of a page. Draw a baseline with a dotted midline and half-inch ruling between. Use a ruler and maybe a T-square, it’s not difficult to make your own paper. You might also find downloadable templates for manuscript paper. Make sure that they use half-inch ruling with a dotted line in the middle.
The way a child writes or shapes letters is very important. Researchers James and Engelhardt (2012) conducted neurological research that showed the benefit of teaching children to correctly shape letters when they write. Improved handwriting is the pathway to better reading. Neurological research also shows that typing on a computer does not give the same benefit that handwriting does. If you want to teach your child to read, first, teach your child how to write and shape the alphabet letters correctly.
For very young children or children having trouble shaping their letters, write out dotted letters on the manuscript lines for the children to trace. Children enjoy using a colored pencil and tracing over each letter several times to see if the color changes. Teach children to trace exactly on the dots. Never use crayons or markers to teach handwriting. Only use pencils.
For very young children or children having trouble shaping their letters, write out dotted letters on the manuscript lines for the children to trace. Children enjoy using a colored pencil and tracing over each letter several times to see if the color changes. Teach children to trace exactly on the dots. Never use crayons or markers to teach handwriting. Only use pencils.
Yes, you will notice that the manuscript letter a that we teach in handwriting is different than the letter a that we see in a printed book. The letter g is a little different, too. As a matter of fact, most of the printed letters in books are shaped somewhat differently than handwritten manuscript letters, even in beginning readers and children’s board books. Throughout history, changes evolved when society went from handwritten manuscripts and handwritten copying of manuscripts to machine printed manuscripts and books. Fortunately, children rarely have trouble identifying this change as long as you point out the difference. It’s shaping the letters correctly on manuscript paper that makes the difference. Scribbling doesn’t count. Writing without lines doesn’t help. So, teach manuscript style handwriting. When children begin to read, point out that letters in a book are a bit different than the letters we write by hand. It’s as simple as that.
After your child can identify the alphabet letters and write each upper and lowercase letter correctly, then teach that letters represent oral sounds. Vowel clustering teaches students to work with letter sounds. Start with the consonants. Save the vowels for later. Just say, “This is a letter a; it’s a vowel. We’ll talk about that later. For now, we’ll just use it’s letter name.”
Start with the consonant sounds. I devote an entire chapter on teaching consonant sounds in my new upcoming book: Why Can’t We Teach Children to Read? Oh, but Wait, We Can.
So yes, you can teach your preschool or kindergarten child at home. You can help your child be ready when school does reopen. But in preschool and kindergarten, practice consonant sounds.
After your child can identify the alphabet letters and write each upper and lowercase letter correctly, then teach that letters represent oral sounds. Vowel clustering teaches students to work with letter sounds. Start with the consonants. Save the vowels for later. Just say, “This is a letter a; it’s a vowel. We’ll talk about that later. For now, we’ll just use it’s letter name.”
Start with the consonant sounds. I devote an entire chapter on teaching consonant sounds in my new upcoming book: Why Can’t We Teach Children to Read? Oh, but Wait, We Can.
So yes, you can teach your preschool or kindergarten child at home. You can help your child be ready when school does reopen. But in preschool and kindergarten, practice consonant sounds.
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