How do I teach DD to read?

[chicaguapa]

Have posted this in Behaviour/Development but on reflection here might be better...

I think the subject line says it all! DD is 3.5 yo and is really showing signs of wanting to read. She knows all her big ABC and little abc visually and can recite the alphabet as well as rhyming and playing I Spy. We also play a game on the bbc site about matching the last letter of the word which she finds challenging and enjoys.

Do I sit down with her and actively teach her or just continue what I'm doing now which is answering her questions about what words say as and when they crop up? She's at pre-school btw so perhaps I could ask them to help?

Incidentally she's not interested at all in writing letters and I wondered if this stage should come hand in hand with reading?

Looking forward to lots of helpful hints.

[homemama]

Hi chicaguapa, It's great that your DD is showing such an interest in reading! Everything you are doing is great(from my early yrs teach exp) IME the single most valuable thing you can do to encourage her is to read to and with her as often as possible. Not just books but posters, labels in shops etc! Once she knows her letter sounds and not just the names of the letters IYKWIM, then move on to two letters one sound, eg ch or sh then on to blends, two letters two sounds, eg st or bl. I wouldnt even attempt writing other than maybe her name as this will come later.
Sorry its long, but hope its helpful!!

[bigdonna]

at my dd school they learn to recognise words(these are called the 45 golden words)first then they are given the first stage of ort books you can buy these in book shops you could teach her flash cards.my niece learnt to read at 3 by remembering the words on flashcards.hope this is helpful!

[homemama]

Yes bigdonna, this method is called 'look and say' and the sounding out method is phonics. There is much debate over which is the best method and both have merits. An average or above child will learn with either although a child who finds reading tricky is usually better with phonics. Often, they will learn more words quicker with the L&S method although personally, and this is only my opinion, I preper the phonics because when they get older, say 10 or 11, they are much more confident approaching new words by phonetically sounding them out.
Perhaps chicaguapa, see which one is used at your DD's school and reinforce learning by using the other one home.

[roisin]

Chicaguapa - sounds great. Some educationalists think writing should develop hand-in-hand with reading, some don't! So take your pick! Personally (with two not very well co-ordinated boys, who learned to read very early) I'm firmly in the "leave writing as long as possible" camp!

Eye spy is great, and you can also do this using the sound at the end of the word: it's very tricky! The computer game is great. It's important that she learns to hear and differentiate sounds at the beginning, middle, and ends of words.

The BBC have some great "Words and Pictures" programmes, if you can track down the first level ones and video them. My boys loved them at this age, and ds2 particularly really learned to sound out/stretch words from these programmes: sssssss-aaaaaaaaaaa-mmmmmmmmmmmmm = Sam!

[homemama]

So nice to see so many mums making such an effort to read with their kids!
I see so many kids who go all through primary school without their parents EVER hearing them read!

[singersgirl]

Hi, ChicaGuapa! If you do a Mumsnet search on "Jolly Phonics" you will find some interesting threads on teaching children (including littluns) to read. When my DS2, at the same age as your DD is now, started to show lots of interest, I happened upon a Mumsnet thread which suggested Jolly Phonics books - you can get some stuff in the Early Learning Centre. My son really enjoyed it and is reading simple phonetic books now - he will be 4 in August and is pleased as punch to be able to decipher "Green Glass" on the recycling bins and, even better, "Public Call" on the side of Dr Who's Tardis!