How can I teach my 4 y.o to read?

Question

My daughter is an English/Japanese bilingual and has just started going to Preschool (Japanese) in April. Until now she has been at home with me and has been stronger in English than Japanese. I read to her every night .She knows her alphabet and can read and write her name and I have played with her sounding out letters and identifying words (although we haven`t done any kind of formal phonics program).

The last few months we have had a bit of a break from that as she has been learning to read her name in Japanese and just get used to preschool (and being immersed in a Japanese only program) er preschool is relaxed and will only start teaching pre-reading/writing (Japanese) next year.

In the Japanese school system she will not learn to read English until middle school, so teaching reading is all up to me. I am wondering where to go from here....whether to push it now or ease off...to start with books or a phonics program.

Any advice from experienced teachers/parents welcomed.

Answer 1

Start teaching her to say the alphabet first then reading it after writing it

Answer 2

You can use flashcards to introduce new words. You need to read a lot of books. Reading the same book everyday and then promting her to read a few words after the book has been read to her 3 times. Always point your finger at the words while reading. Stress on the sound of the letters. Use books with large font.

Also read this article it might help you.

http://momadewizkids.com/blog/2008/04/05...

You can also use some other webistes like www.starfall.com.

Answer 3

I've had great success with Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Seigfried Engelmann... under $20 on amazon.com.   Great reviews beyond mine :-)  Focuses on letter sounds...which really are more important than the letter names because we need to know the sounds to decode words.  It also starts them reading right away.  My son is a little bit over half way through and he reads the directions and simple sentences in his workbooks and he can pick up an easy reader or an easy picture book and read it.  I also like it because it works on reading comprehension.  Many children can "decode" a word but do not really know what they have read.  In these lessons they have something for them to read and a picture to go along with it.  It is suggested and I suggest it as well...to cover the picture first and then ask the child what will be in that picture.  It's great!

Answer 4

Phonics Pathways is a complete phonics book that will take her to the 4th or 5th grade reading level.  My daughter is 3-1/2 and I will probably use it with her, but in the meantime in order to get her familiar with her letter sounds, she's watching The Letter Factory by Leapfrog.  The first DVD teaches the short vowel sounds and one sound per letter... I think it's the second or third DVD that goes into the long vowel sounds and other consonant sounds, including blending and a few basic phonic rules.  I may or may not get them.  My intention with the Letter Factory was just to get her interested in her letters and sounds to begin with.  Hopefully, she'll pick them up quick.  If you look both programs up on Amazon you'll see they have excellent reviews and 5 stars each.  Goodluck!

Answer 5

Mine learned.  She's five now and just signed up for kindergarten this week, but she can already read (not memorize).  So... Yes.  But, I'm sorry I can't tell you how exactly my daughter learned.  She knows her alphabet and sounds and whenever she asked what a word was, I told her and she remembered the sound blend.  For example - if I read the word "chair" to her - she remembered the next time she saw "chat" that the -ch- made that sould and was able to read chat by herself.  That's how she learned all the sounds blending rules, etc.  Mostly she WANTED to learn though, I think that was key.

Answer 6

get her a tuition, buy her mur english movies or any type of movies wit english suititle on it, social mur wit good english talkative children n mur!!! n my main advice is teaching her by urself!! no 1 in this world can teach ur children better than urself!!

Answer 7

Have her practice writing the alphabet..not just to recognize the letters. She's ONLY  4 so it's a gradual thing. Not too many 4 year-olds can truly read! some parents claim that they can, but many times the child has memorized a certain book and the pictures help them with the story.

Give her a chance. First writing all the letters (and numbers too) and while she's learning the letters you can practice with the sounds the letters make. Ask her what sound a A makes and so on. (you*ll have to teach her and remind her alot)

My 6 year old doesn't know how to read yet, other than a few words. She'll start school this fall.

I'm an American living in another country. My oldest who as I said is 6 can speak both languages fluently. Its because she hears Norwegian every day so you're child needs to hear Japanese every day too.  If she only hears English then she'll of course be <"stronger" (as you put it) in that language at first.

Answer 8

try this free website       www.starfall.com

that can help her

Answer 9

you should get her on the computer doing some spelling games or phonics games and get some simple picture books for her to read to you. i hope i was of help.