Familiarity and confidence with the alphabet is one of the stepping stones in learning to read. Purchase alphabet puzzles from a toy store, educational supply store or, more economically, at a yard sale. Work the puzzles together and challenge a child to match the letters with their corresponding holes independently. Say the name of each letter and the sound the letter makes together. The alphabet song is a catchy tune that helps children remember the letters. Sing the song together frequently. Allow young children to play and manipulate a set of alphabet magnets. Children often pretend to spell words and make letter patterns. Point out and name the first letter of a child's name.
Understanding the concept of print is an essential component in learning to read. Reading storybooks to young children demonstrates that stories and information comes directly from the print on pages. Regularly borrow books from a local public library, ask a friend for a set of old picture books or purchase storybooks from a bookstore or garage sale. Read aloud daily with your child. Find a time to read together each day that is not rushed, and time can be spent enjoying the story. Predictable text is enjoyable for children and, when repeated often, children will begin to say the text with the reader. Encourage young children to follow along by moving a finger under the words being read.
Good readers ask questions while reading, make predictions and draw conclusions. Teach young children to read stories following these patterns. Before reading a new story, allow a child to look at the picture, listen to the title and make a guess about the story's content. Pose a few questions the reader might want to know while reading. Pause while reading when the answer to a question is found. Upon the conclusion, ask a child if she liked the story or not. Encourage her to retell the story to a parent, sibling or classmate.
Teach and encourage a love of reading. Allow a young child to spend time alone with books. Not only can stories be read with words, stories can be invented using the beautiful illustrations found on the pages of the books. Children practice developing characters and plots when creating their own stories to match the pictures. Make independent reading a routine part of each day when a young child can muse and imagine while pouring over books independently. Borrow books on compact disc from the library or purchase several from a bookstore. Children will benefit from listening to the voice pattern and tone differences of a professional reader.