Learning to read is complex and there are many pitfalls along the way. Tuning into the learner via muscle testing is a quick and easy way to release blocks.
Kinesiology and EDU-K can connect anyone to their true learning potential. Learn more at
http://www.braingym.org
Teaching a child to read involves a dual approach of visual work and phonic work proceeding in parallel lines. Each must be given the same emphasis.
From the beginning a child must realise reading is about getting meaning and ideas. The child must be reading for content.
Meaning begins with a word, then a phrase and then a sentence.
Reading is the conveying of ideas and not sounds. Every printed word must convey an idea.
Ideally the preliminary stages of reading must begin with visual work and practice in quick visualisation. When a child has ample practice in visualisation, knows the shapes of numerous words accurately through word matching activities, letter sound relationships can be presented.
Once a child becomes familiar with the look of words he or she will need the phonic props for tackling a new word.
It is absolutely essential that words are sounded out accurately and quickly so the idea contained in the sentence is not lost.
A phonic approach to learning to read does not mechanise the subject matter if the vocabulary related to the child’s development is used in written texts. Introducing words that are not in the child’s vocabulary makes understanding what is read difficult.
Sounds can be introduced in a definite order taking into consideration:
- Ease of pronunciation
- Frequency of sound occurring in reading matter
- A Child’s power of imitation.
When phonic exercises are carefully graded and arranged accompanied by games learning to read can be an enjoyable process.
How We Read.
In the process of reading the eye makes a series of jumps, accompanied by pauses. It is during the pauses that perception and comprehension takes place. Nothing is perceived and understood while the eyes are moving.
So in the beginning of learning to read 2 tasks must be considered and developed.
- Establishing an easy and rhythmic eye movement
- Increasing the span of perception
As a reader gains experience there are fewer pauses in each line and so focussing on the ideas in the text is possible.
Short lessons at frequent intervals are more beneficial than long periods with longer intervals.
Frequent repetitions of sounds will help a child remember them. Phonic games are of infinitely more value than drills because children will come back to them again and again and so never tire of repetition.
No matter what method of teaching reading is adopted a sound phonic training is essential if the young reader is to acquire a sense of power and independence in working out new words.
Phonics for Kids is a necessary part of learning to read.
An in depth account of the importance of phonics can be found in the ebook ‘A Guide to Reading and Writing English’ that can be downloaded without charge from www.phonicsforkids.net
I have not been writing for my BLOG over the past few weeks as I have been very busy writing content for my new website www.superlearner.com.au It will be replacing my current site.
I have also been teaching new students who are progressing very well with their reading.
Phonics has been a fundamental part of their lessons. The joy for me is when they realise they will be reading by themselves in no time.
One very successful students has said,
“Since having reading and writing lessons with Marilyn I feel more confident in my ability and want to try even harder. I can now read magazines, the movie guide and recipes. My goal is to read a book by myself.”
My experience is that once students understand that part of learning to read is understanding the English Alphabet Code they realise with effort they can learn to read and write English successfully.
Successfully learning to read happens when there is a definite and logical plan. Gradual progression through reading texts that are geared to the reader’s level of development, frequent revision and variety and interest of content are the means to be employed to this end.
No matter what method of teaching reading is adopted a sound phonic training is essential so a reader can acquire a sense of power and independence in working out new words.
As one of my highly intelligent secondary students who was unable to read fluently said once I explained letter sound relationships to him, “Is that all that was wrong?”
Fortunately for him he left school a fluent reader. Why?
He could crack the Alphabet Code.
I urge anyone whose child is having reading difficulties to check their phonemic (sound awareness) and phonics knowledge. Poor knowledge often shows up through reading difficulties.
Written by Digby Wolfe. Goldie Hawn recited it.
Here’s to the kids who are different;
The kids who don’t always get ’A's”
The kids who have ears
twice the size of their peers,
or have noses that go on for days.
Here’s to the kids who are different;
The kids who are just out of step,
The kids they all tease,
Who have cuts on their knees,
And whose sneakers are constantly wet.
Here’s to the kids who are different;
The kids with a mischievous streak,
For when they have grown,
As history has shown,
It’s their differences that make them unique.
I found this poem in a book by Paul E Dennison, PHD , called Switching On – A Guide to Edu-Kinesthetics. c1981
The book nearly 30 years outlines simple techniques that can switch on anyone to learning. The techniques are not restricted for using with children.
The techniques outlined in the book are known as Brain Gym today.
It was stated in 1981 these techniques ‘represent a revolutionary approach to learning.’
Paul Denison believed that children are switched off by the high pressure, competitive approach to education.
Thirty years on the increase in children diagnosed with learning difficulties tells us something is wrong with modern education.
Brain Gym® movements, exercises, or activities refer to the original 26 Brain Gym movements, sometimes abbreviated as the 26.
Even though it is not clear yet “why” these movements work so well, they often bring about dramatic improvements in areas such as:
- Concentration and Focus
- Memory
- Academics: reading, writing, math, test taking
- Physical coordination
- Relationships
- Self-responsibility
- Organization skills
- Attitude
The following website http://www.braingym.org/ is all about Brain Gym and has lots of helpful information.
Many five, six and seven year olds read easily. This is probably because they were read to from an early age and as a result have developed a sound vocabulary.
Today, a lot is known about how the brain works and how children learn.
This development has made teaching, reading and spelling more informed.
It is clear that students who have trouble reading do not know how the English Alphabet Writing system works.
Adults who are responsible for children must understand phonics to give positive support in the learning to read process.
Think of the Alphabet as a code. Early reading and spelling is learning to crack a code.
Phonics for kids is about teaching the relationship between letters and sounds in a systematic way. Phonics (letter sound relationships) must be mastered in the early school years for reading, writing and spelling success.
The four important skills of reading are:
- Phonics -understanding the relationship between letters and sounds
- Fluency – reading as if speaking so concentration is on what the text is about.
- Continually developing a spoken and written vocabulary.
- Developed text comprehension skills.
Your child will not want to practice reading if the words are too hard to work out. This is serious because, learning to read fluently involves regular practice.
When you know how the code works you can use picture stories with natural language and your child’s writing to teach the alphabet code.
You can use a computer in your home to teach phonics lessons in fun and engaging ways.
Let your child set the pace of learning and enjoy mastering each skill.
Reading and writing involves much more than hearing sounds in words and understanding letter sound relationships, but without this basic knowledge reading and writing are frustrating chores.
The Fitzroy Reader program develops the above skills systematically and together step by step.
To learn more please visit
This website is informative and an excellent resource for parents.
I highly recommend it.
Literacy is a lifetime development and one of the greatest gifts a child can receive.
I am constantly amazed by the number of parents who tell me their child is having difficulty learning to read.
I get a sense that these parents are concerned but somehow think things will improve as the child matures. This is usually not the case.
In this article I want to stress some facts that you as a parent need to take on board about children and reading.
• Most adults forget what it is like learning to read. It takes a lot of determined effort. Many researchers consider learning to read to be one of the most complex functions the human brain is required to perform. The critical ages for learning to read are between the ages of 6 and 9.
• The reading habits a child develops between the ages of 6 and 9 usually determine their reading skills throughout school and life. These years are vital in literacy development.
• One of the basic skills needed in learning to read successfully is the ability to process the sounds of the language.
• Speaking clearly and encouraging your child to do so too is giving them a distinct advantage. Sharing nursery rhymes is an excellent pre-reading activity especially when you teach your child to recite the rhymes clearly. Be sure to pick up any suspicious hearing loss and seek a hearing specialist straight away.
• The common way to teach children the Alphabet is to teach young children the names of the letters rather than the sounds they represent. Many reading specialists suggest this can cause reading problems because it establishes letter names as the dominant memory attached to each letter.
• A child needs to learn the sounds the letters represents before they learn the letter names. Your child needs to know the sounds before they can be taught the phonics skills that underpin fluent reading.
• Phonics skills involve blending sounds into syllables and syllables into words.
• The entrenched habit of using letter names to work out words is hard to break. Current research is indicating that your child needs to learn phonics first before reading any text. Time and time again I have noticed whole word reading and word memorization in the early years of schooling causes difficulty in decoding multi-syllabic words in more difficult texts.
An excellent reading program and one I use with students with reading difficulties is the Fitzroy Reading Program.
The five strategies of reading are:
• Phoneme awareness (hearing sounds in words)
• Phonics (letter sound relationships)
• Fluency
• Vocabulary Development
• Comprehension
The Fitzroy Readers develop the above skills systematically and together step by step.
To learn more please visit
This website is informative and an excellent resource for parents.
I highly recommend it.
Your child is a learner with a distinctive learning style.
Language is the foundation for many kinds of learning.
Language and reading are soul mates. When united they enable your child to create fantasies, dream, inform and be informed by others and most importantly learn about himself or herself.
How humans acquire language is still a mystery but it is known for sure that children acquire language through imitating the language of parents, caregivers and people around them.
Children who do not acquire the ability to speak in their early years are at a serious disadvantage. The time between birth and five years hold our greatest learning potential particularly for language. Vocabulary, grammar and the overall structure of language are absorbed at a great rate during these years.
It is believed by many developmental scientists that half of our ultimate intelligence is developed by the time we are four years old. The average understood vocabulary of a four year old is 1500 words.
Loving parents and caregivers who speak to the child in their care using complete meaningful sentences are developing a relationship that encompasses language and reading. This is the foundation for future learning.
Sitting a child in front of the television will not do this.
The child as a learner must be emotionally involved. They must make a conscious decision to learn new skills.
What the Gift of Reading Can Do
- Expand language skills. Many of the words used in books are not used in everyday life
- Allow the reader to learn about him or herself and others through reading about characters and their behaviour.
- Clarify thinking, stimulate dreaming, hopes and fantasies
- Present ideas and experiences not experienced in everyday living
- Allow reading of favourite stories and books and so experience a sense of comfort and respite from the world
- Keep the reader in contact with what is going on in the world
- Enable social contact by sharing books and ideas with others
Some of the Common Reading Myths (False Beliefs)
- It is always easy to learn to read
- Using the eye is involved more than the brain.
- Reading skills are all mastered separately
- Reading has nothing to do with real life
- Reading can only be taught at school by trained teachers
- A love of reading comes naturally
- Reading will be replaced by technology
- Understanding newspaper headlines is all that is needed
- Children will grow out of their reading problems
- Watching TV automatically improves reading skills
- Reading is boring
- There is no value in re-reading a book
- You only read if there is nothing better to do
- Reading is an isolated activity
- Reading begins and ends at school
- Reading is a waste of time
- Fluent readers always understand what they read
Learning to read is one of the most important skills a child needs to learn.
It takes a conscious commitment from parents to make reading a part of family life. Too many parents say they don’t have the time to read to their children.
They don’t realise or refuse to acknowledge their role in this most important aspect of parenting.
A website that gives plenty of ideas about reading is
Following are a number of simple activities you can do with your child to check their phonemic or sound awareness. If you notice any difficulty organise a hearing test.
In fact I think all children need to have hearing tests. Many children have ear infections that can affect hearing.
Also check eyesight. I have seen numerous children miss out on chunks of their education due to undiagnosed sight issues.
If hearing and sight are OK and your child still has difficulty don’t ignore it as there could be a processing issue and early intervention is necessary to ensure they are not left behind.
Phonemic Awareness Activities
Activity One
‘I Spy With My Little Eye’
I spy with my little eye something beginning with /b/. (For example: bath) Say the sound not the name of the letter.
Do this activity in short bursts and often.
Activity Two
Making up Rhymes
I saw a dog bark at a frog.
I saw a frog jump off a log.
I saw a bee fly near a tree.
Encourage your child to contribute.
Activity Three
Beginning Sounds
What sound does this word begin with?
Say a word slowly. For example: banana. Ask your child for the beginning sound.
You can also have a number of pictures. Ask the child for the word and then for the beginning sound.
Activity Four
First Sound
Say a number of words beginning with the same sound.
Bat, ball, bin, bike, bun. Ask what sound do these words begin with.
Activity Five
Rhyming Words
Say a word and ask your child for one that rhymes with it. (For example: house/ mouse)
Activity Six
Last Sound in a Word
Ask the child to say the last sound in a word.
Say a word clearly (for example: trick)
The last sound is /k/ spelt ck
Activity Seven
Middle (Medial) Sounds
What sound do these words have that is the same?
An example: road, boat, float, robe Remember this is oral work. The same vowel sound can have different spellings.
Activity Eight
Three Letter Words
Sound out a three letter word: d-o-g
Ask the child to give you the word or choose a picture that represents it.
Activity Nine
Sound Boxes
Have the following sets of sound boxes
Set One – 2 boxes drawn side by side
Set Two – Three boxes drawn side by side
Set Three – Three boxes drawn side by side
You will also need 4 counters.
Place the boxes on a table in front of your child.
Place counters below each box. Say a word (for example: at) Ask child to say sounds.
For each sound they push a counter up into the sound box.
Do the same with words of three and four sounds as well.
Activity Ten
Have a picture from a picture book or magazine.
Tell your child you will say the name of an object, animal or person in the picture but without its first sound. Ask the child to guess the correct name. (For example: _ird)
I hope you enjoy doing these simple activities with your child. Remember they are oral activities.
Make them short and fun without any tension.
One of the most valuable if not the most valuable invention of all time is that of the Alphabet.
The Alphabet is what enables us to grow intellectually because we have access to ideas and words that are written down and not used every day.
We think using words. The fewer words we know the poorer our thinking.
It is believed a Phoenician realized that speech is made up of a collection of finite sounds. Words are a combination of some of the 44 sounds humans make with their speaking apparatus (tongue, teeth, breath and larynx for example.)
Over time the Alphabet (symbols) was invented to represent the sounds in words. These sounds are called phonemes.
Reading is the ability to translate written words back into their spoken form. The alphabet provides us with a constant set of sound symbols that enable us to do this.
Stage One in Learning to Read is to ensure your child has sound (phonemic) awareness.
This article outlines what you can do to develop your child’s phonemic awareness. The next article will present a number of fun activities.
Phonemic Awareness is the understanding that words are made up of sounds. It is also the ability to pick out and reorder the sounds in words.
It is not the same thing as phonics
Phonics is about the relationship between letters and sounds. Phonics is associated with the printed word.
Reading Researchers indicate there are five types of phonemic awareness tasks.
- The ability to hear rhymes and alliteration (closely connected words that have the same sound or letter at the start).
- The ability to choose the sounds in the beginning of words and notice whether words have the same beginning sound or not.
- The ability to orally blend sounds together and split syllables
- The ability to separate words into their single sounds
- The ability to take a sound from a word replace it with another sound and blend and articulate the new word.
Tasks one to four should be mastered before beginning school and task five at the middle or end of first grade.
The children who have consistent exposure to being read to, singing songs and nursery rhymes develop these skills before school without stress. Most phonemic awareness activities are oral.
The principle a child needs to understand then is that words are made up of a series of individual sounds. The next step – phonics training- relies on this knowledge.
It is estimated that approximately one child in five lacks phonemic awareness. This is not a small number.
Without phonemic awareness a child will find learning to read and write difficult.
There is some good news however. Early intervention is possible.
If your child is struggling with reading check out his or her level of phonemic awareness.
Without early preventative measures, many children who lack sound awareness are often labeled as
dyslexic or learning disabled.
Phonemic awareness is not related to print and most phonemic awareness activities are oral.
For more information please download a free copy of my ebook,
A Guide to Reading and Writing English.
Your information will be respected and not shared with anyone.
If you would like some phonemic awareness activities I recommend
Phonemic Awareness Activities for Early Reading Success
By
Wiley Bevins
Scholastic Books. ISBN 0-590-37231-9
There are many such books available.
There is no single approach to teach a struggling reader to read.
There is no single commercially produced reading program that will provide everything necessary to produce a confident, fluent reader.
There is no online program that will do it completely either.
No product sold is a full reading curriculum.
The most important factor in enabling a struggling reader to learn how to read is the teacher.
Study after study indicates the importance of teacher expertise as the critical variable in successful literacy instruction,
However you can help your child learn to read.
You are your child’s first and most influential teacher. Learning to read is begun well before your child attends school.
Reading aloud to babies and young children is now more than ever regarded as being of prime importance. Paediatricians, speech pathologists, child psychologists, social workers, book store owners, politicians, teachers, researchers, carers, media personalities, parents and many other passionate individuals are spreading the read aloud to children message.
Mem Fox, bestselling children’s author, author, literacy expert and academic has written a book called: ‘Reading Magic: How Your Child Can Learn to Read Before School and Other Read Aloud Miracles. ‘
Her book enthusiastically outlines the reasons why parents and caregivers gain such parenting rewards when they read to their children lovingly and consistently.
The book is only $7.95 and can be purchased from most book stores. It is filled with practical advice, inspiring true read aloud miracles and information about boys and reading and phonics.
Mem Fox firmly believes:
“If parents understood the huge educational benefits and intense happiness brought about by reading aloud to their children and if every parent – and every adult caring for a child – read aloud a minimum of three stories a day to the children in their lives we could probably wipe out illiteracy within one generation.”
For the price of two cups of coffee you too can be inspired by Mem and gain confidence about your important role in the development of your child’s literacy.
Ask your book store for a copy.
Mem Fox
Reading Magic – How your child can learn to read before school-and other read-aloud miracles.
Australia, Pan Macmillan, 2007 (3rd reprint) ISBN 9 780 330 42 2222
Mem Fox’s website also gives some wonderful ideas and support.
http://www.memfox.com/welcome.html
Mem has also written Australia’s foremost selling picture story book. ‘Possum Magic’ 
I clearly remember someone very close to me once telling me that I think too much. Of course at the time I thought you could never think too much.
I now know what was meant. I used to ruminate (go over and over something and not come to any conclusion). Therefore I didn’t take any action because I was unsure of what I needed to do. This can be a complete waste of time.
There are thinking skills that one can learn that can lead towards effective action in whatever a person wants to achieve.
There is such a thing as analysis paralysis. I feel that literacy education is reaching or has reached that stage.
The most researched aspect of education is reading.
Because reading and writing are inter linked and are skills everyone needs in the modern economy the teaching of them is influenced by many powerful vested interests.
Politicians, media, employers, parents, policy makers and academics all seem to know how literacy teaching should be done. Many spear heading the debate have never set foot in a classroom. Teachers in schools are, like the foot soldier in an army, subjected to enormous pressure to win an unnecessary war.
Ilana Snyder an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, has written a book entitled, ‘The Literacy Wars’.
In this thoroughly researched book she sets out to explain the reasons for the often bitter disagreements between the interested factions over how literacy is taught in Australian schools.
Chapter 3 is where she discusses reading. She mentions the battle lines that have been drawn up between the two main approaches to the teaching of reading – phonics and whole language. This battle is totally unnecessary.
The latest formal literacy review here in Australia was brought about by a significant number of psychologists who blamed children’s poor reading skills on the whole-language approach. Intrinsic to their argument was the belief in scientific evidence for literacy policy and teaching. Their assumption was that in most cases where children did not learn to read it was due to ineffective teaching. It has been in my experience so in many cases but certainly not all.
I do not deny the value of an enthusiastic and knowledgable teacher in a student’s life. But literacy involves mastering the Alphabetic Principle.
It is important to listen to what the advocates of phonics are talking about. I am sure they do not have a simplistic view of the reading process. Phonics teaching has never disappeared we are told but is integrated in reading and writing activities. You can’t do either without at least some letter sound relationship knowledge.
I firmly believe that teachers are at a complete disadvantage when they do not understand the purpose of the alphabet. The Alphabetic Principle is ignored because teachers have not been taught it.
Yes! Reading is much more than phonics but without phonics one cannot read.
Professor Snyder in her book discusses phonics versus whole language the two approaches to literacy teaching.
The pertinent points she makes are as follows. These are followed by my comments.
- Learning to read is complex involving both cognitive and social dimensions. It is not as complex as all that if the material and instruction is at a child’s level of development.
- Reading is about meaning making - I thought this was obvious.
- The reality is there is no single way in which to teach children how to read and write. But there are fundamentals that must be mastered.
- Whole language philosophy was introduced to Australian schools in the 1960’s. It involved helping children to develop skills to enable them to take responsibility for their own learning. This was to happen through ‘authentic’ reading and writing. It did not ignore phonics. My experience was that when invented spelling was introduced students could no longer read their work. Neither could I. Many children had no idea that letters represent the sounds that we speak and there is a code that everyone needs to understand and use. Most children looked for guidance in their learning.
- The importance of teaching students how to think critically about what they read, see and hear. Nothing new about this. In my day it was called reading comprehension.
Successful teaching of reading and writing involves a mixture of techniques including phonics and individualised attention. Becoming literate involves a response from the learner and often a lot of focused attention. At times it isn’t fun.
In December 2005 The Teaching Reading Report was released. You can get a copy from
http://www.dest.gov.au/nitl/report.htm
“The report claimed that, according to research evidence, ‘all students learn best when teachers adopt an integrated approach to reading that explicitly teaches phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary knowledge and text comprehension. This approach, coupled with effective support from the child’s home, is critical to success.
There is nothing new here except a lot of ruminating on behalf of the report’s compilers.
The truth is there is no simple single method of teaching reading and writing. Our forefathers/mothers knew that. Why were schools established?
Literacy teaching involves a response from the student, commitment and professional knowledge from the teacher and most importantly input and support from parents.
I think schools are now battle grounds and the war is being lost.
The title of a book by Robert T. Kiyosaki, ‘If You Want to be Rich and Happy –Don’t Go to School’, has a point.
Learning to read is not difficult if you speak the language and you understand how the Alphabetic Code works.
The complexity of the texts read deepen as a student matures.
The book that has been an excellent resource for me is:
The Literacy Wars: Why Teaching Children to Read and Write is a Battleground in Australia by Ilana Snyder, Allen and Unwin, 2008. ISBN 9781 741754 24 7 (pbk.).
As parents your role in your child’s literacy development is crucial and so is the education system equally responsible.
