10 Simple Teaching Techniques Will Make Your Child an Excellant Reader.

When I began homeschooling my first child, I wondered "How does a teacher with thirty plus students teach them all to read?" I was struggling to teach one child. Now with a few years of experience and some successes behind me, I'll share some of my most effective teaching techniques.
1 - Steady progress not instant mastery. Each day build on what the child has learned the day before. Every improvement no matter how small is a step in the right direction. If the child is learning something every day, you are succeeding. You are getting closer to your goal with each baby step.
2 - Set your child up for success. On purpose put him in situations where he will win. Set short-term easy-to-reach goals for him.
3 - Let him know you are excited about his reading goal. Praise him for every step in the right direction.
4 - Have story time every day. Read to your child. A child that is read to has a greater ability to put the words together into a meaningful story. Choose books with no pictures and encourage the child to build his own pictures in his mind.
5 - Choose reading material that is at the child's interest level rather than just his reading level. He needs to be able to relate to the story from his own real life experiences.
6 - Write words the children say. Suppose your child had an exciting day and he wants to tell you all about it. Grab a pencil and write down word for word what he says. Ask him questions to get more information. Write down exactly what he says. Then read it back to him. Let him read it to a friend. This kind of activity will help him transfer the written word into something meaningful.
7 - Label things around the house. Put labels on the table, chair, desk, floor, and ceiling. Anything that has a name can be labeled. Get creative. Use descriptive labels like big blue chair, Kris's room, dull brown carpet, pretty rose tea kettle, etc. Let the child use his imagination to come up with exciting labels.
8 - Teach at odd times. While making dinner, read the recipe out loud. Point our letters and words on signs while driving. Show him articles in the news paper. Read him the mail. Just about anything you are doing, you can include the child.
9 - See, Hear, Say, Write. Choose a reading program that uses this method. See the word. Hear the word. Say the word. Write the word. If your program does not include this, it can easily be added in. Just write the word on a paper. Tell the child what it says. Have him repeat it to you and then copy it onto his own paper.
10 - Read it to him, read it with him, child reads alone. Read the story or book to the child before you ever try to get him to read it alone. For the child who is just beginning to read, or an older one who is struggling, this is a very affective method. True, he may read some from memory, but it helps him to remember the words when he sees them in other places. After you have read the story, read it with the child. Take turns. You read a sentence then the child reads the next sentence. Finally, the child reads the story alone.