All About Teaching and Learning Phonics

[tamarind]

Dear all,

This is a very good article !

How To Get Children Interested In Reading

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Get-Children-Interested-In-Reading&id=918369

Most people already know the benefits of reading. People learn by reading. People also have fun and feel fulfilled by reading. As a person reads more and more, the person's literary skills improve. Reading makes people into better readers, writers, and speakers.

Unfortunately, children do not read much anymore. Because most people never get interested in reading as children, as adults they also do not read much. Some polls even say that the majority of people in the United States do not read anymore. You probably want your children to pick up the beneficial hobby of reading. Let me suggest a few ways that you can get children interested in reading.

Less TV - You can get children to read more by getting them to watch less TV. Children read less because they lazily waste their time rotting their mind in front of a TV--a behavior they usually pick up from their parents. Consider deciding not to have a TV, or at least do not have cable. Even if you do have a TV, watch less yourself because children model their behavior after the adults in their life.

Suggest Books That Would Interest The Child - You can also get children to read by helping them find books they like. You can do this by bringing the children to a library or book store and letting them pick out books that interest them. You can also suggest books about topics of interest to the child. For example, if you have a child who likes to play soccer, consider suggesting a book about soccer to the child.

Do Not Push Too Hard - If you try to force children to read, or if you otherwise pressure them to much, you will make them dislike reading. Try not to make reading seem like a chore. Instead, you want to get the children to read on their own free-will. You want them to read voluntarily because they see the fun and self-benefit of it. Forcing your children to read will make them into good slaves who like to obey orders, but it will not make them into good readers who like to read.

Teach Children To Read Well - Children will not want to read if they cannot do it or if they cannot do it well. People like to do what they do well. If you have a talent for singing, you would like to sing. In contrast, if you sing horribly, you will not waste your time embarrassing yourself at it. Children will want to read more if they feel like they read well. Teach them how to read better in a positive environment. Additionally, compliment their reading abilities so that they feel proud and confident of their reading abilities. If they feel proud and confident of their reading abilities, the children will want to read more.

Use those methods to get your children to read more. Also, feel free to think of more methods.

Whatever you do, good luck and have fun!


The last point is most important. I have taught my kids to read very well before the age of 5, and you can do it too ! Read my blog :
http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/

[Charmaine_chong]

Hi Tamarind,


Thanks for sharing the article.

I am not sure how well he can read before he turn 5. No matter how bad i do it, i am sure he will at least pick up something.

He dislikes to repeat words after me.Is hard to get him do ‘echo reading’. He say out when he is in good mood. Most of the time, he pay attention and listen. I think that is enough temporary since he refuse to ‘read’.

He likes to do worksheets, therefore, i use it to access his words recognition ability and understanding level.

And now he loves arts and craft. We do it anytime, anyday so long he ask for it and has finish reading.

Prior than that, i used to get him junk food to go through reading lesson with me. Otherwise, he would just cry and cry.

[tamarind]

Charmaine_chong:

Hi Tamarind,


Thanks for sharing the article.

I am not sure how well he can read before he turn 5. No matter how bad i do it, i am sure he will at least pick up something.

He dislikes to repeat words after me.Is hard to get him do 'echo reading'. He say out when he is in good mood. Most of the time, he pay attention and listen. I think that is enough temporary since he refuse to 'read'.

He likes to do worksheets, therefore, i use it to access his words recognition ability and understanding level.

And now he loves arts and craft. We do it anytime, anyday so long he ask for it and has finish reading.

Prior than that, i used to get him junk food to go through reading lesson with me. Otherwise, he would just cry and cry.

Charmaine,
May be you should concentrate on teaching your son phonics skills first. Both my kids learn phonics before they start reading the Peter and Jane series. When they have a good foundation in phonics, learning new words is easier for them.

When teaching, you can try to think of games that you can play with your son so that he can learn at the same time.

Don't worry. As children grow older, their willingness to learn will improve. In fact, both my kids were only learning A,B,Cs before the age of 3.

[sphinx]

Hi Tamarind


I read your phonics blog and came across the Wonderful wizard of oz book. Most books of this title comes with black and white or no illustrations but the one which you posted has some colour to the illustrations. Do you mind posting the picture of the book cover and let me know the publisher or which version is it?

Thank you so much.

[tamarind]

sphinx:

Hi Tamarind


I read your phonics blog and came across the Wonderful wizard of oz book. Most books of this title comes with black and white or no illustrations but the one which you posted has some colour to the illustrations. Do you mind posting the picture of the book cover and let me know the publisher or which version is it?

Thank you so much.

Hi sphinx,
I bought the book from amazon.com. You can click on this link to the see the cover and more information :
http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Wizard-Oz-Centennial/dp/0393049922/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252883692&sr=1-14

It is an annotated version, and there are lots of extra notes on every page explaining the story, for example, why the author named the girl Dorothy.
This is not necessary for a child.

I actually did not know the contents when I bought it. But it included the original illustrations in color, which are wonderful, and my girl loves the book very much.

On hindsight, I should have bought this one instead :
http://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Wizard-Oz-Anniversary-Wonder/dp/0060293233/ref=pd_cp_b_1

[sphinx]

Tamarind


Thanks.

[lizuan76]

Hi Tamarind,


Can recommend more books for us? You have a lot of interesting story books.

Thanks.

[tamarind]

lizuan76:

Hi Tamarind,


Can recommend more books for us? You have a lot of interesting story books.

Thanks.

Its my pleasure to share more books here

Highly recommend this book : My father's dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannet. Available at Kinokuniya bookshop or amazon.com.
http://www.amazon.com/Fathers-Dragon-Ruth-Stiles-Gannett/dp/0440421217/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253075401&sr=8-1


http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w1nyHWTEh94/SqcQAAZ_ykI/AAAAAAAABQs/kNFUXbuqMMI/s400/dragon0.JPG\">

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w1nyHWTEh94/SqcO2d_f6RI/AAAAAAAABQk/iCd9VeIkn-c/s400/dragon2.JPG\">



The story is suitable for 4 years old and above. The reading level is about the same as Ladybird Peter and Jane Series book 9a. Children who cannot read at this level yet, will still enjoy listening to this story being read to them.

Here is the synopsis from amazon.com :
The story begins when Elmer Elevator (the narrator's father as a boy) runs away with an old alley cat to rescue a flying baby dragon being exploited on a faraway island. With the help of two dozen pink lollipops, rubber bands, chewing gum, and a fine-toothed comb, Elmer disarms the fiercest of beasts on Wild Island. The quirky, comical adventure ends with a heroic denouement: the freeing of the dragon. Abundant black-and-white lithographs by Ruth Chrisman Gannett (the author's stepmother) add an evocative, lighthearted mood to an already enchanting story. Author Ruth Stiles Gannett 's stand-alone sequel, Elmer and the Dragon, and her third volume, The Dragons of Blueland both received starred reviews in School Library Journal and are as fresh and original as her first.

I let him read out loud about 3 or 4 pages to me everyday. He loves to read the book, and we have a lot of fun acting out the story everyday. Imagine crocodiles that love to eat lollipops ! A lion combing and braiding his hair with ribbons :

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w1nyHWTEh94/SqcNgO_OBRI/AAAAAAAABQU/-LniiJxWbYc/s400/dragon1.JPG\">

You can never guess what is going to happen in the next chapter. As an adult, I really enjoy reading this book too.

If we want our kids to love books, we must find books that they will love to read. This book is an excellent choice.

I will post more books soon.

[Charmaine_chong]

Hi Tamarind,


I have been teaching him 2 words for a week and has no result yet. He dislikes to say the words back to me. Most of the time end up with crying or mummy get angry.

I played puzzle, 3 words letters, word search for "a" words. He told me he was tired when see all words. Headache!

He watch Leapfrog Talking Words day time (about 15 min each time, 2-3 times weekly) and learning 4 cards of 2 words at the same time.

Read a lot to him as well.

Would this confuse him?

[tamarind]

Charmaine_chong:

Hi Tamarind,


I have been teaching him 2 words for a week and has no result yet. He dislikes to say the words back to me. Most of the time end up with crying or mummy get angry.

I played puzzle, 3 words letters, word search for \"a\" words. He told me he was tired when see all words. Headache!

He watch Leapfrog Talking Words day time (about 15 min each time, 2-3 times weekly) and learning 4 cards of 2 words at the same time.

Read a lot to him as well.

Would this confuse him?

Charmaine,
You are doing fine. Don't have to worry about confusing him. You are doing the right thing by reading to him. Try to find a variety of books and discover the type of books that he loves.

For my boy, I also have to keep trying until I find the methods of teaching that he likes. For example, I used to write the 3 letter words on the white board, then point to the words and ask him to read. This is what teachers in schools are doing. It did not work for him.

For my word cards, at the beginning I only put a few simple words together, for example, 3 words ending with \"at\" and 3 words ending with \"an\", and see if he can pick up the correct ones. It took many repetitions over many months before he showed any results.