Is your child struggling to read fluently or are you trying to teach a young child to blend and having trouble? Maybe your child has been taught the letter sounds and maybe even many letter combinations (e.g. ai, igh, ee etc...) and you cannot understand why your child cannot read well.
Why is my child doing these things? In short, your child, even if s/he has been taught phonics, is not blending, but guessing. This means that whoever taught your child phonics did not ensure that the child was hearing and feeling sounds in words to the point where s/he could easily sound out words to spell them: c-a-t, AND put them back together again to read them: c-a-t- = CAT. Other typical signs that this is the case include:
What is blending? Blending is the word we use to describe the putting of sounds together to make words. For example, a child may sound out a word: d-i-g. The child then needs to be able to hear that when we hear d-i-g it is the word DIG. Some children, for various reasons, do not do this automatically, as others might. This leads the child to learn words by heart and then, if s/he sees a word with similar letter patterns, s/he will presume that it is the same word, and rather than check the sounds in the word, will guess. It also has to be borne in mind that this is a two -way process and a child may be able to do it one way (most often to spell), but not the other (most often to read). If the parent sees a child sounding out accurately for spelling words such as BUS and CUT, then s/he can be forgiven for thinking that the child must also be able to sound out such words to read them. However, this again is not automatically the case. In my work with pupils who are struggling to read I often find that one is easier than the other, at least initially. Do not be too hard on yourself, if you taught your child to read - it is a mistake that even many teachers make. See below for the remedy. I thought guessing was a reading strategy Sadly, some teachers have mislead parents to believe that looking at pictures and guessing what the text says under the picture, is a way to learn to read. Sadly, the opposite is true: guessing is an enemy to learning to read. Although phonics is taught in UK schools, sometimes a child is given reading books that do not contain words that a child can decode. This can lead a child to guess and some teachers may not notice what is happening until the habit has been formed. How can I help my child? If your child is just learning to read for the first time - understand the pitfalls of teaching a child to read; understand that once a child knows all of the letter sounds and can hear the beginning sound of words, then the child must now learn to hear sounds in words and take them apart to spell (we call this segmenting words) and put them back together again to read (what we call blending). This stage may take much time and much patience be needed. It is helpful if teachers/parents a child's ear to hear sounds in words, before introducing the child to written words as otherwise a child may memorise the words before learning the skill. If you have an older child who has already memorised small words, like CAT and BUG then again, start with pictures, and then use nonsense words first orally and later to decode. This pack of 3 FREE to download Oral Blending Activities may help you. They are based on hearing sounds, but not seeing words. Here are three simple activities that you can do with either a younger or an older child. They are both listening activities, so the child will not be expected to spell or read the words. With just a little time spent each day, doing these activities, your child will hopefully soon be hearing sounds in words - separating them out as if to spell and putting them back together ready to sound out text.. The secret is to keep practising and to have a lot of patience. One day it will happen. Once the child can blend, see Reading Made Simple, my 100% FREE systematic Phonic Programme to teach reading, spelling and writing. For a small price you can check your child's progress at this level with my Phonic Diagnostic Assessment tool kit. This will help you to detect where your child is having difficulties. It may be individual letter sounds that are weak, or blending words such as MAT and TUB, or those with consonant blends such as FROG and MILK. Once the weakness has been identified you can begin work to remedy the situation. |
WelcomeHello, I'm Lilibette, qualified teacher (B.Ed Hons). I have taught phonics in mainstream education, followed by have home-educated my two sons to 18, and am now a private tutor. Categories
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