Reading Success Begins in the Preschool Years - Teacher Tips
by Elaine Engerdahl

Description: Tips for encouraging your preschooler to learn to read.
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As a teacher, I have been asked by preschool parents how they can help their preschool child be successful in school. Certainly reading to your child is an important step but there are other activities that can enhance even further success.

Parents can promote even greater reading success by modeling the reading process. Occasionally, point to the words as you are reading to your child. This teaches your child that print moves from left to right, from top to bottom and how words are separated by spaces.

The best books are those that are predictable and repetitive. The story line follows a repetitive pattern. These types of books are called emergent readers. An example of a pattern is:

I see a bear.
I see a duck.

Your child can begin reading these books on their own because they are highly predictable. We call this pretend reading because they are not really reading the book yet. This is an important step because it allows your preschooler view themselves as a reader and this initiates a positive attitude towards it.

Occasionally, read rhyming books with your child. Research has shown that children understanding rhyme at any early age have a better understanding of how language works and this promotes more success in reading. Dr. Seuss books and nursery rhymes are a great resource for this.

Interactive reproducible books are an inexpensive and effective way to introduce children to the reading process. These type of books are often reproduced by teachers and used in the classroom. They are in black and white format so they can be copied and stapled together and this allows every child in the classroom to have one. The beauty of these books is that they are inexpensive and children can color and practice other learning skills within the content of the book. Samples of these types of books are found on my website.

There are a number of strategies you as a parent can employ to help your child begin the reading process on their own. At this age this is called pretend reading because they are not really reading. The following strategies can support your child’s efforts to begin reading on their own:

One strategy is called echo reading. In echo reading the parent reads a line and the child repeats that line. The parent should try to encourage their child to touch the words while reading. Initially, you might have to hold their hand to help them understand this concept.

Another strategy is called choral reading. The child reads the line at the same time as the parent. Once again, encourage your child to touch the words as they read.

The last strategy is called fill in the blank. The parent reads a line and leaves out a key word for the child to read. This works great when reading rhyming stories. The child is to finish the sentence with the word that rhymes. The website provides many resources and other strategies that you can employ with your preschooler.

For many more tips and resources on providing educational experiences for you preschooler visit http://www.kinderplans.com

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