Stage I of reading development (Google, Jeanne Chall) typically corresponds to the end of kindergarten through the end of first grade. This is the first major “learning to read” stage. Your child usually starts Stage I when they can do the following:
- Recognize all upper and lower case letters automatically (in isolation when randomly presented).
- Knows the appropriate sounds associated with the letters.
- Knows a handful of high frequency words (i.e., sight words)
I think of this stage as one where the child is just learning how to ride a bike. Just as in learning to ride a bike, the child will be wobbly for quite some time. She may start to fall off, but you are there for support. If you aren’t sure how to tackle this yourself then it might be a good idea to consider enrolling your child into a preschool brentwood ca or something similar to get some professional help with developing your childs reading development.
However, avoid putting too much pressure on your child when it comes to reading or learning new things. Children take their own sweet time acclimating to new situations. The reason is it is quite evident that children who have had very strict parents or who have gone through a lot of things like abuse in any manner in their childhood tend to be depressed. They are not able to focus on anything. If you notice any of these symptoms in your child, you can choose to refer a pediatric therapist from Kinspire or any other pediatric developmental health care who might be able to help your child to deal with their anxiety at such a young age.
Anyway, to help children progress in this stage, the following tips should prove helpful:
- Practice a lot of sight words (see next handout). There are lists that help organize the high frequency words
- Expose child to words that follow consistent patterns. Initially, words that are one syllable and have a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern (e.g., set, got, fit) should be used.
- Stay away from multisyllabic words in Stage I (e.g., words like largest, porcupine, calendar would not be appropriate), unless the word is taught as a sight word.(e.g., a word like little or summer),
- Read material that controls for the type of words in the text. Lots of early Dr. Seuss, for example is very good (e.g., Cat in the Hat).
- Let your child read easy material (for her) out loud to you about 10 minutes or so per night.
- Keep it light and fun. Watch any tension leaking in to the reading aloud session. Your job is to help boost confidence at this point.
If the teacher gives out worksheets (or reading) that are above your child’s level, politely talk to the teacher and tell her that working at frustration level is not appropriate.
Excellent suggestions Dr. Selznick.
Most important of all is your : Teach (know) the appropriate sounds associated with the letters.
A big yes to: Practice a lot of sight words .
Thanks, Luq. Appreciate the comment.