Children are born with an intense fascination for finding out about the world as it relates to them, and the easiest way to teach a child is to relate every new piece of information directly to them. Teaching a child to read is no different. The most natural place to begin is with their name.
Before we begin to teach children the foundations of reading and writing there are several factors to consider. Being able to read at a young age is often associated with intelligence. Parents enjoy comparing their child's reading development with others', and sometimes it can feel as though all that matters is for them to teach their child all of the alphabet sounds before anyone else. However, having a good attitude about reading and being able to concentrate during an activity are actually better indicators of ongoing academic success.
There is a constant balance needed between teaching children early reading skills, and making sure they have a broad sense of the world. If quality time with a child is limited, it is more important that adults spend time with them investigating the environment around them. Take them to museums and art galleries. Catch buses and trains. Visit farms and provide them with experiences from other cultures.
All of these activities help children make connections in their brains. It increases their understanding of the world, and will help greatly with comprehension once reading in full begins.
Read books to children all the time and from the earliest of ages. Reading aloud to a child makes connections in the brain, aids verbal skills and enhances a child's progress once formal reading lessons begin. Read during their snacks and mealtimes while they are a captive audience!
Many countries think that children, especially boys, are not ready for formal education until after the age of six. Teaching structured reading skills too early may develop negative attitudes to reading and writing. If they develop at their own pace, they will learn what they need from their experiences first. Merely reading to a child provides them with skills in prediction, sound recognition and relation to pictures, without formal instruction.
If a child does enjoy learning about letters, which can start anywhere from two to seven years of age, there are many fun activities that you can share with them to help them learn, without turning it into a structured and possibly boring lesson.
If you try an activity and the child isn't interested, put it aside and try the activity again in a few months time - perhaps they are not quite ready for it.
The main idea in any of the following activities is that children will learn while having fun. If you or the child become frustrated, put it aside and relax. Children learn at their own pace. Many of these activities will appeal to the unenthusiastic reader and writer as they use non-traditional methods of learning.
To be able to read and write their own name is a good skill for children to learn, especially as they prepare to troop off to school. The pre-reading and writing skills outlined below will help your child become confident with letters and help them start to discover the secrets of written communication.
Note that when you do teach a child letters, you should teach the lower- case letters for their name (with the exception of the initial letter).
This approach will help them recognise these letters once they move on to other words. Children need to learn the sounds and sight of lower-case letters before learning upper-case letters.
Play-dough models
Using play dough is great for children who like messy or physical play.
* Roll the play dough into long sausage shapes and form the letters in the child's name.
* Talk about the shapes and ask the child to make them too.
* Make little shapes representing objects that start with the same letter as the child's name.
* If the child prefers to make their own objects, just work quietly alongside them, talking as you go.
* If they need a little more structure, write out large letters to drape with long strips of play dough.
Letter hunts
* Go on a letter hunt with the child.
* Take them around the setting to find objects that start with the same letter as their name.
* Give them little letter cards that they can place around the setting when they find objects.
* Draw their attention to words that start with the same letter when you are talking to them. For example, 'Silly snake and Susie both start with the same letter!' This can be a good activity to do with children as young as two.
Sand writing
Try this activity outdoors. Use a stick to write the letters of the child's name in sand, saying the sounds as you write them. Use shells to decorate the letters. The child can then trace over the letters with another stick or have a go at writing their own.
Fingerpaint madness
Mix up some fingerpaint using a little detergent mixed with acrylic paint and a little water to make it thinner. Cover an outside surface with plastic and smear the paint on to it. Write the letters in the paint. Rub them out and try again.
Puzzlerama
Cut out the letters of the child's name from thin card. Mix them up and ask the child to place the letters in order. Provide paper to trace around each letter. The child can colour in the letters to make their own name chart.
Colouring in helps them develop the fine motor skills needed to become tidy writers.
Popcorn letters
* Draw the child's name in large letters on a sheet of paper.
* Prepare a lot of popcorn (you may lose some to hungry mouths!) and give it and a glue stick to the child.
* Ask the child to glue the popcorn along the lines of the letters that you have drawn.
* Talk about the names and sounds of each letter as they do so.
Racetracks
For children with a short attention span, cut out each letter of the child's name on large sheets of paper and join them together in order. Draw a line along the middle of each to make a road and have the child move toy cars around the shapes, so helping them become familiar with letter formation.
Magic painting
When a child has become a bit more confident with the shape of their name, write it on a piece of paper using a thick crayon.
Stick it on to a window or glass door at their height so that the letters can be seen from the outside. Give them a brush and a jar of water to paint along the lines from the outside. When they are more confident, take part of it away so that they have to write the letters from memory. By using water, they do not have a permanent reminder of any mistakes. You can also use the water painting method on concrete - ask them to try to write their whole name on a hot day before the first letter has evaporated. This is hard for children with long names!
Treasured name? Wrap three small treats and write a different name on each one. Hide them around the setting. The only one a child is allowed is the one with their name on it!
Whiteboard writing
Make a whiteboard out of card (cereal box card works well) covered with cover seal. For younger children, leave the board plain. For more confident children, rule some wide lines along the card before sticking on the cover seal. Give the child a whiteboard pen and a cloth and let them practise writing their name. Provide a card with their name on it to use as a guide.
The same ideas can be used to help children with spelling as they reach school, providing a child with a range of fun ways to learn words and love reading. Try one a week and a child will be able to read and write their own name in no time.
Rachel Goodchild is a teacher in New Zealand and author of Alligators to Zebras (Brilliant Publications)
