Preparing to Read

Developing a positive attitude toward reading is important during this early stage. If the child discovers early on that reading can be fun, he or she will learn to read because he wants to. Make reading a part of your family’s life.

There are several basic skills a child needs to develop before he or she can learn to read.

Two skills necessary for successful reading are:

Knowledge of Letter Sounds

• To learn to read, the child must be able to find the separate sounds in words.

Knowledge of Letter Names

• Before a child can learn to read, she must be able to recognize and name the letters in the alphabet.

There are two different processes that occur when reading successively:

Decoding

• Reading requires that a child match letters with sounds.

Reading Comprehension

• The child must also understand the meanings of words and ideas when reading.

When the child learns to decode a new word, he will also be learning to comprehend what the word means and how it can be used.

The next section contains home activities that can be used to develop these basic skills. Click on the link to Parent and Child Activities on the left!