Giving Back to the Community as a Literacy Tutor

ClickN KIDS    Articles     Giving Back to the Community as a Literacy Tutor

Many homeschooling parents are quite active in their communities during the holidays, but have you thought about how you can use your very specific skill set as a reading instructor to benefit other children in your neighborhood? The holidays are a perfect time to offer your assistance to other parents in your community who are experiencing difficulties in getting their children to read at their appropriate grade level. If you’ve already had quite a bit of success in teaching your children how to read, perhaps you should offer a literacy “short course” to local children who are home on vacation.

According to the Reading Research Quarterly, there are two important strategies to use during a short-term tutoring relationship with a child. First, use texts that introduce high-frequency vocabulary gradually and with repetition through the use of common spelling patterns. We can recommend a variety of leveled readers that follow this method. Second, use activities that implement direct letter-sound instruction. If you’ve been following a phonics program that uses research from the National Reading Panel, you and your child are already reaping the benefits of this type of instruction.

One of the keys to this type of tutoring is verbal instruction techniques. You’ll need to “scaffold” both reading and writing skills by using one to enhance the other. Since you only have a short time to work with these children, it’s important to place equal time on reading and writing and be deliberate when you show the tutored child how one is related to the other. Then you’ll need to focus, through verbal exercises, on how to read and spell unknown words. Remember when your own child learned how to read? He wasn’t memorizing existing words–he was learning decoding skills that allowed him to figure out almost every single word that came his way from that point on.

You only have a short time with these children, so don’t expect to perform miracles. If you stay focused on these basics, you might just have a breakthrough that will allow these children to return to the classroom in January with more effective decoding skills. Their teachers, their parents and your community will thank you for this valuable service!

Early Years Reading Lists- When Is the Right Time to Get Your Child Started on Reading?

ClickN KIDS    Articles     academics, books, language, learn, learning, Morag Stuart, phonics, read, reading, vocabulary, words

When is the right time to get your child started on the joys of reading? A quick glance through the available Early Years literature reveals many different theories. A majority of experts feel that it’s never too early to begin, and the belief that reading to a child when he or she is still in the womb is still very strong among academics.

But when it comes to the nuts and bolts of reading, when is the perfect time for your child to hit the books? The idea that “every child learns at a different pace” notwithstanding, experts used to feel that reading should begin as soon as your child begins to recognize words, followed by language recognition. Some experts, such as Morag Stuart (Jim Rose’s Independent Review of Reading), warn that word recognition is not the first process that should be taught to children and it should not necessarily precede language recognition—both should be taught simultaneously from the very beginning. Think about it this way: language recognition is a process that is learned during childhood, yet our vocabulary continues to develop our entire lives.

This symbiotic relationship between word recognition and language recognition actually runs much deeper. Many Early Years reading models assumed that children learned language first, and then used that knowledge to decipher words. Now we know that children also need to decipher words in order to build their language skills. It’s a tough balancing act, but understanding that both need to occur simultaneously will usually yield quicker and more thorough results with your child.

So how do you apply this to your child’s first reading list? The following tips should make it a little easier:
• Start with books that consist of words your child already knows. Too many “tricky” words can be discouraging, and you want to make your child’s first reading list easy to complete as well as fun.
• Have your child apply phonetic skills to unfamiliar words. Don’t start off by merely identifying letters.
• Have you child practice reading the same “easy” words over and over until they are committed to sight memory.

Remember that reading is a very difficult task to learn, and the fact that our children can accomplish this at such an early age is amazing! Always be enthusiastic, and don’t forget to have fun.

Learn How to Read

ClickN KIDS    Articles, children reading programs, Online Reading Lessons, Phonics, Reading Program, Reading Software     learn how to read, learn to read, learning how to read, reading lessons, reading programs

Online Programs to Learn How to Read

The best online program to learn how to read is the phonics program offered by ClickN KIDS.  It combines video game-like environments with cartoons to keep your child interested in the lessons.  It also helps them by teaching them the rules of different letter combinations, so they will always be able to pronounce a new word.  This program even helps with spelling, because the sounds of the word can be translated back into letters for spelling.

Learn How to Read English

Adults who want to learn how to read English often have a hard time attending a classroom.  They have a home, family and a job that can take up most, if not all, of their time.  By using an online reading program, they can set their own lesson hours and not have the learning experience interfere with their home life.  They can even work with their children, making the experience beneficial for the entire family.

Organic Teaching

ClickN KIDS    Articles     cognitive development, early education, education, learning, organic learning, organic teaching, phonics

These days “organic” is the magic word. With a rise in child obesity, warnings against processed food, and the conflicting messages about potatoes, milk, – or any other food we’ve grown to love – parents are choosing a fresh approach to eating. It’s been proven that a healthy diet maximizes a child’s cognitive development. (But you don’t need science to tell you that cookies and cake, do not an attentive child make.) In our case “organic learning” means to cultivate curiosity by turning regular activities into teachable moments (and yes, we feel clever.) These are interactions that are normally overlooked, but have great learning potential. A trip to the grocery store can be a lesson in French, Spanish, math, or basic colors and shapes. Brushing your teeth can be about environmental responsibility (or science if you let them make their own.) A walk to the park can increase observational skills about the surrounding world at any age. These spur-of-the-moment lessons pepper your child’s learning experience, and build help curiosity in a natural way. An organic learning environment will provide a more comprehensive way to learn—which means a happier, smarter, well-rounded child.

Reading Programs

ClickN KIDS    Articles     programs for reading, reading program, reading programs

Phonics Reading Programs

Learning to read with phonics can be easier than the traditional method of memorization.  Phonics reading programs combine the entertainment of cartoons and video games with the lessons needed to teach your child how to read.  Phonics works by teaching your children the sounds of the letters and shows them how those sounds change when the letters are combined.  They are then able to read any word they encounter by breaking the word into its individual components.

Improve Your Spelling with Reading Programs

The phonics reading programs, like the ones offered from Click N KIDS, can also help improve your spelling.  The phonics-reading program teaches you the individual sounds of the letters and then teaches you the sounds they make when they are combined.  You can also reverse this process and listen to a new word, break it into its component sounds and then spell the sounds out with the appropriate letters.

Reading Program

ClickN KIDS    Articles     program for reading, reading program, reading programs

Choosing a Reading Program

When looking for a reading program to help your child read, you should consider a phonics program.  These programs teach children to combine sounds from the individual letters into words.  This allows them to recognize new words easier than the traditional memorization method.  The program offered by ClickN KIDS teaches the children through interactive games and the use of their favorite cartoon characters.

How Does the Reading Program Work?

The reading program offered by ClickN KIDS allows the children to watch cartoons between lessons.  The child watches part of the cartoon and then is presented with a lesson on phonics, either sound matching or word structure.  They must complete the lesson before the next part of the cartoon plays, giving them an instant reward for their efforts.  This type of teaching provides entertainment as well as education.  Children learn through all three learning styles: visual, audio and kinesthetic.

Phonics Reading

ClickN KIDS    Articles     phonics reading, reading phonics

Phonics Reading to Improve Reading Skills

Phonics reading is a form of educational instruction which can teach children of all ages to learn how to read as well as improve their current reading levels. Lessons consist of learning different word combinations and the sounds these combinations make and then builds on the basics. As children advance through a phonics program they begin to learn how to form sentences as well as sentence structure all while improving their reading skills.

Phonics Reading Online

There are different types of phonics reading programs available which use different techniques in order to teach children how to read. Programs which not only teach the children how to sound out the words, but also provide lessons on spelling using phonics are better than programs which focus primarily just on reading. ClickN KIDS, www.clicknkids.com, is a complete phonics program with lessons available for pre-k children through 3^rd grade following the same curriculums used in schools.

Phonics

ClickN KIDS    Articles     phonics, reading phonics

What is Phonics?

Phonics is the process of learning to read by duplicating the sound of the letters.  It is a reading program that enhances children’s ability to read words that they have never encountered.  There are several different phonics programs, with the most engaging being offered by ClickN KIDS.  Their program combines phonics-learning tools with cartoons and interactive games on the computer.  This keeps the children entertained while still teaching them the basics of reading.

Differences Between Phonics and Traditional Reading Programs

Traditional reading programs involve hours of memorization where the children commit the different words to memory.  The flaws in this program occur when a child encounters a word they have never seen before.  Phonics teaches children to read by showing them how the different letter sounds combine to form words.  If they encounter a new word, they can sound out the letters and learn to pronounce the word.  They can also hear a word and turn the sounds back into letters, spelling new words with ease.

Online Phonics

ClickN KIDS    Articles     online phonics, online phonics program, phonics online

Learning English with Online Phonics

Phonics is a form of learning used to teach children how to read and write the English language, and can also be used to teach non-English speaking people. Online phonics programs are available which use different methods of learning to recognize what patterns of letters make which sounds, while at the same time learning how to sound out unknown words. Learning phonics enables children the ability to distinguish letter sounds by various letter patterns.

Affordable Online Phonics Programs

Online phonics programs all have basic lessons which teach the basics of phonics, however, different programs offer other options and abilities. The costs of phonics programs can vary from site to site and it is ideal to find a site which offers free trials of its products as well as a money back guarantee, which are both available from ClickN KIDS, www.clicknkids.com. This online site offers phonics programs for both reading and spelling which allows children to learn at their own pace.

Learn to Spell

ClickN KIDS    Articles     learn how to spell, learn to spell, spell

Learning to Spell Words Correctly

Learning to spell words can be a complicated process which can be difficult for children when attempting to learn similar sounding words. Children are taught how to sound words out but also need to know about different spelling rules and sounds which different combinations of words can make. There are over 800 commonly used words in the English language and learning correct spellings is important as children will use these words to learn how to create sentences.

Learning to Spell Support Programs

Learning to spell words begins in the home before children even start school and continues all throughout their elementary educations. There are different support programs available to parents to assist them in teach children how to spell, such as flash cards, software programs, and online programs. Online programs from ClickN KIDS, www.clicknkids.com, offer the best variety as words and can be updated and changed without having to purchase anything additional.