Articles
Oct 03, 2012
Kids Reading Games
As a means of making learning fun and motivational, kids reading games can be very effective at teaching early literacy skills, especially when they are part of a broader, systematic reading program. In order to be truly effective, a reading program will need to provide instruction in the following core areas of literacy: * **Phonemic awareness** * **Phonics** * **Fluency** * **Vocabulary** * **Text Comprehension** ## Phonemic Awareness A word is rarely just a single sound. Most words are made up of a number of smaller units of sounds, called phonemes. For instance, the simple word ‘cat’ is made up...
Oct 03, 2012
Kids Online Reading – How it Helps
The growing awareness of how important structured literacy development is to the educational life of a child has seen a proliferation of reading programs and resources available online. But does kids online reading really help them to read? As with any reading program, the effectiveness of an online reading program depends on the educational base from which it draws its lessons. Current educational practice with regards to literacy recommends instruction in five key areas – **phonemic awareness**, **phonics**, **fluency**, **vocabulary**, and **text comprehension**. The best online reading programs incorporate all five of these essential elements into the structure of their...
Oct 03, 2012
Interactive Phonics Games
Systematic and explicit phonics instruction is a crucial part of any reading program, and interactive phonics games are one of the most effective and enjoyable ways for kids to learn phonics. Phonics instruction, that is, the method of teaching how letters are linked to sounds (phonemes), has experienced renewed popularity online, where interactive phonics games are typically found. These games have proved to be great tools to help kids learn the 26 letters of the alphabet and the 44 sounds that they make, both individually and in letter combinations. Phonics games found online offer a variety of highly interactive tasks,...
Oct 03, 2012
Reading Help for the Struggling Reader
No parent wants their child to struggle with reading, but it’s important to be aware of the signs of reading struggles in order provide your child with effective reading help if necessary. Repeated ear infections as a young child, speech delays, or difficulty with the pronunciation of certain sounds can all signal possible reading difficulties later down the track. Another sign that your child may struggle with reading is the difficulty to recognise the letters of the alphabet. Any difficulty with the alphabet or the related alphabetic principle, that is, the relation of letters to specific sounds, can lead to...