Articles
Oct 03, 2012
The Complexity of Reading for Children
The process of reading for children is a complex one, involving a number of reading skills that kids have to learn, develop, and use simultaneously in order to both read and improve their reading. According to Marilyn Adams, an esteemed American educator specialising in early reading development, the complexity of reading can be illustrated in comparison to driving a car – while drivers simply concentrate on the act of driving, readers have to build, maintain, and drive the car, all at the same time. * **Build** – readers have to develop systems for identifying and manipulating letters, letter-sound correspondences, words...
Oct 03, 2012
Kids Reading Games
As a means of making learning fun and motivational, kids reading games can be very effective at teaching early literacy skills, especially when they are part of a broader, systematic reading program. In order to be truly effective, a reading program will need to provide instruction in the following core areas of literacy: * **Phonemic awareness** * **Phonics** * **Fluency** * **Vocabulary** * **Text Comprehension** ## Phonemic Awareness A word is rarely just a single sound. Most words are made up of a number of smaller units of sounds, called phonemes. For instance, the simple word ‘cat’ is made up...
Oct 03, 2012
Kids Online Reading – How it Helps
The growing awareness of how important structured literacy development is to the educational life of a child has seen a proliferation of reading programs and resources available online. But does kids online reading really help them to read? As with any reading program, the effectiveness of an online reading program depends on the educational base from which it draws its lessons. Current educational practice with regards to literacy recommends instruction in five key areas – **phonemic awareness**, **phonics**, **fluency**, **vocabulary**, and **text comprehension**. The best online reading programs incorporate all five of these essential elements into the structure of their...
Oct 03, 2012
Interactive Phonics Games
Systematic and explicit phonics instruction is a crucial part of any reading program, and interactive phonics games are one of the most effective and enjoyable ways for kids to learn phonics. Phonics instruction, that is, the method of teaching how letters are linked to sounds (phonemes), has experienced renewed popularity online, where interactive phonics games are typically found. These games have proved to be great tools to help kids learn the 26 letters of the alphabet and the 44 sounds that they make, both individually and in letter combinations. Phonics games found online offer a variety of highly interactive tasks,...