Teaching Kids to Read 3-Letter Words and Beyond
A Step-by-Step Program for Helping Beginning Readers
Jun 22, 2009
Devising a beginning reading teaching strategy is such an overwhelming task. After teaching a child the sounds of the alphabet, what next? Here is a sample program for using phonics to teach kids to read with step-by-step instructions.
Informal Program for Teaching Beginning Reading
Kids learn best when they don't even know they're being taught. For this informal phonics reading program, select picture books that kids don't already know by heart. Try the public library, if they can recite their own picture books word for word. The books should have big lettering that is easy for children to see.
Teaching Three-Letter Words
Whenever a good reading moment arises, parents can read the story while pointing to each word as they read it. Every few pages when a good phonetic three-letter word appears, pause and ask the child to sound it out, using this method to help him:
- Put your finger under the first letter of the word.
- When the child says its sound, move your finger to the next letter. Then to the third.
- After the child has sounded out all three letters, tell him to "put it all together."
- Point to the first letter again, and move it a little more quickly to the second and the third this time. (your finger should move slightly faster than the child makes the sounds.)
- Repeat a few more times. If your preschooler is having trouble, say the letter sounds out loud with them as you point, exaggerating how you draw out the vowel sounds, like this: "c-aaaaaaa-t". Basically, you will be saying the word with the vowel elongated.
Repeating this simple process over a period of weeks or months is really all that's needed, provided the kids already know their letter sounds well. Some may pick it up right away, others may learn gradually over an extended period, and others suddenly "get it" when it's least expected.
Teaching Consonant Blends
When children are very familiar with sounding out three-letter words and can do it without having an adult point for them, they are probably ready to move on to consonant blends. Two consonants in a row, either at the beginning or the end of a word, are called a consonant blend. Common consonant blends include "st" in the word "stop," "fl" in the word "flap," and "nd" in the word "mend."
When Children Have Trouble Reading Consonant Blends
Some kids can read consonant blends with no trouble in the exact same manner as three-letter words. Others, however, need help visually separating the blend from the rest of the word. The best way is to break it up into two two-letter words. Here is how to help a child sound out a blend like "frog":
- Physically cover the last two letters of the word with a hand (this is the same, regardless of where the blend occurs.)
- Wait for the child to sound out "fr."
- Move your hand to cover the first two letters of the word. Let the child sound out "og".
- Cover the last two letters again and say "fr" with the child. Quickly move your hand to cover them and say "og" together.
- Uncover all the letters. Point to each chunk and say "fr... og" with the child. Ask if she can put it together.
Gradually phase out the help that you provide. When a child is ready, stop saying the sounds of the letters with them. Then stop covering chunks of the word. Finally, stop pointing.
Best Sight Words to Teach Beginning Readers
At this point, it's a good idea to begin introducing children to the various sight words, sometimes called Dolch words. The best sight words to teach beginning readers are:
- a
- I (the first-person pronoun)
- the
- come
- said
It's okay to look up lists of common sight words on the Internet, but be discerning. There's no reason for a child to memorize words like "big," "it," or "jump" that can be sounded out. Also, words that follow specific phoenetical rules, like "make" (silent "E" makes the vowel hard) or "see" (two "E"s together make a long sound,) shouldn't be memorized. Only exceptions to the rules of phonics need to be memorized as sight words.
Teaching Phonics Rules to Beginning Readers
Concentrate on one phonics rule at a time, and look for those types of words anywhere and everywhere – books, recipes, toy packaging, and street signs. Use them in a simple homemade reading matching game. There's no set order for teaching phoenetical rules, but a good idea is to introduce rules in order of easiest to hardest. Here is a sample order:
- "oo" sound
- "ee" sound
- "th" sound
- "sh" sound
- "ch" sound
- "ing" sound
- "or" sound
- "er," "ir," and "ur" sound
- silent "e" changes the vowel to the hard sound
- "c" makes a soft sound when followed by "e" or "i"
The Decodable Books series published by Harcourt, Inc. is a great series for teaching phonics rules. Each book focuses on a rule and features that rule over and over. The readers are numbered to indicate level of difficulty. Best of all, unlike many other beginning readers, the books aren't repetitive and feature an actual storyline.
It's possible for young children to learn to read without the help of professional teachers, expensive systems, or a formal curriculum. When parents follow these steps in an informal and fun way, kids will love to read with phonics. The important thing is not to push reading on a child – when they want to start sounding out words, they will.
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