Having a child of 7 to 10 years who can not read is a source of anguish more and more frequent for parents. In most cases, this is not a problem of the child's ability. You can be very smart and healthy and able to do many things, but not have a good performance in reading. Why has this happened?
Several studies have been conducted on this, since this situation has appeared on a growing scale, where older children of fourth and fifth grade continue to have the same difficulty, they can not read or write. The problem lies in the relationship between capacity and capacity.
A person may have ability, but not the ability to do something. Although the two words have a similar meaning, they do not mean the same thing. To better understand these two concepts, let's look at a simple example of motor skill and motor skill.
Motor capacity refers to the physical conditions of an individual that are already incorporated from birth as muscles and flexibility.
The motor ability is the way in which the same individual uses his muscles and his flexibility to move. You may have the necessary conditions to do something, such as swimming, doing gymnastics, etc., but you do not know how to use your muscles properly. In short, the ability is innate for the human being and skills are learned throughout life.
The same happens with reading. The child has the ability to read, but can not produce the corresponding sounds because he has not yet learned which letters have the sound. Therefore, it is possible and simple to solve this problem using the correct literacy method, teaching the relationship between the written letters (spelling) and the sounds they represent (phonemes).
How to help the child learn to read.
These exercises can be done with children from 4 years old, respecting the age in each case. Younger children will not equal everything yet, but they will be stimulated intellectually for learning that will make a big difference in the future.
- A suggestion is to choose familiar secondary objects that begin with the vowels a, e, i, o, u. For example, one can show an avocado, a bee or anything that begins with the phoneme "a". "This is an avocado that starts with the sound aaaa ...". Only after teaching how to produce the sound that begins with this letter in several objects will it show how it is represented (by writing the letter "a"). In this way, the curiosity of the child is triggered by the interest in knowing how to write this sound. This must be done with the entire alphabet individually.
The next step is to show the sounds of the letters as they come together to form the syllables, like "bullet". The sound of the letter "b" together with the sound of the letter "a" is "ba", and so on. These exercises must be repeated constantly and can be taught at any time, taking advantage of what the child is doing. If you are eating, teach phonemes of food syllables, such as rice, salad, steak, salsa, etc., and provide continuity in all day-to-day activities. "Playing" with the sounds of the names of friends or family is also fun and educational.
Music is an incredible tool to help children develop even before they start talking. The rhythm, the variety of sounds and the sung lyrics stimulate the brain to create connections between the neurons that will execute the whole process that involves learning, memorizing letters and writing. It is highly recommended that music be reproduced in the environment when the children are studying. This cooperates so that the brain uses all the functions of learning, such as speech, creativity, concentration, memory, etc.
Another suggestion is to read children's stories to the child, since they stimulate the imagination and the will to learn about what is being read. It is a good time to teach the sounds of objects, animals or names of characters in the plot. When pronouncing the speeches of the characters, you should work the intonation of the voice, that is, interpret it as if it were the character speaking. If the speech is sad, say the phrase in a weeping tone; If it's for joy, laugh together, and so on. The same can be done by reading children's poems. The intonation of the voice and the corporal movements (like the "masks") help to create a rhythmic sense that makes a great difference in the learning of the phonemes!
It is also useful to play with language games that encourage the repetition of sounds and the execution of different types of rhythms. Example: Hit the table with your hand or with a spoon while singing a children's song like the "Soldier's March". You can change the times each time you re-sing or include a different time in the middle of the song. The child should repeat with the parent or teacher at the same time. This simple exercise, incredible as it may seem, stimulates the brain's functions for reading.
Another option is to play children's songs and accompany the rhythms with bodily movements raising the arms, jumping, marching, advancing and retreating, shaking the head, turning, applauding, etc.