Articles
Feb 19, 2013
Teach Phonics to Kids with Flashcards
Developing phonics skills is fundamental for young children to learn how to read. Along with an understanding of phonemes, that is, the individual sounds that make up words, phonics is one of the first core literacy skills that children learn on their reading journey. ## What is Phonics? Phonics is the ability to link letters or combinations of letters to units of sounds (otherwise known as phonemes). ## Why Use Flashcards? Flashcards provide an effective, hands-on and most importantly fun way for your child to develop their phonics skills. Phonics flashcards can help children learn the letters of the alphabet,...
Feb 04, 2013
5 Elements of Learning to Read Online
When learning to read online, there are five key elements that your child needs to master in order to become a fluent reader that reads for meaning. These 5 key elements are: ## 1.Phonemic Awareness Phonemes are the units of sound that make up a word. For instance, the word ‘hat’ is made up of three phonemes, /h/a/t/. When a child develops phonemic awareness, they are able to hear, identify and manipulate these individual phonemes. Developing phonemic awareness is the first critical skill young readers need to attain in order to progress on their journey toward reading fluency. ## 2....
Feb 01, 2013
Teaching your Child to Read - 5 Tips
Teaching your child to read at home can help them develop the skills and, perhaps more importantly, a positive, self-motivated attitude that will shape their future learning experiences. Try incorporating the following into your child’s reading experience and watch how quickly their reading skills, motivation and confidence develops: ## 1. Sing Songs and Nursery Rhymes Simple songs and rhymes like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “Eensy Weensy Spider” are not only memorable and fun, but help your child develop phonemic awareness, that is, the ability to identify the individual sounds in words. By reading these rhymes your child will soon...
Feb 01, 2013
3 Activities for Learning Sight Words
Learning sight words is one of the essential skills needed to become a fluent reader, and there are many sight word activities that can help early readers integrate these crucial words into their vocabulary. With more than 200 in the English language, sight words are the words that appear most frequently in our reading and writing – words like ‘a’, ‘I’, ‘is’, ‘can’ and so on. Sight words can sometimes be difficult for children to learn as they may not be able to be pictured, with their meaning more contextual. They are also sometimes phonetically irregular, that is, their sound...