From little reader to big reader: the stages of learning to read

Reading, a long journey!

Long before reading, there's sound recognition. The child recognizes the different sounds in spoken language and manipulates them to form words. They can find words that begin with a particular sound or a word in which they hear it. Then there's learning the letters of the alphabet. The child has to name them, but also be able to say the sound each one makes. They also become aware that words (spoken or written) are made up of small units (phonemes, letters). A phoneme is the smallest unit of spoken language¹. It can correspond to the sound of a letter. For example, the letter “b” corresponds to the phoneme (or sound) “buh” that we hear in the words “boat” or “baby.” It can also be the sound that corresponds to a small combination of letters, as in the examples “sh,” “ch,” “oa” or “ow.” Next, the child learns to blend phonemes. For example, the phonemes “b” and “a” make “ba.” When the child blends phonemes to identify a word, we say they're decoding. They start syllable by syllable. They split the word into syllables and often have to blend the syllables they've read to identify the word. So they'll read: “b” + “a,” “ba”; “b” + “y,” “by”; “ba” + “by,” “baby.” At this stage, reading is hard and takes a lot of time. It demands a lot of effort and concentration from your child. Yet this stage is necessary so that they properly identify each phoneme. Over time, the child will develop their reading skills. They'll be able to read more complex syllables (for example: “fre,” “pla”). In addition, frequent, familiar words with a simple structure can be identified without being decoded. The child will be able to memorize them and recognize them automatically (thanks in particular to the famous sight words often used in Grade 1!).

And what else?

According to Giasson (2003), in kindergarten and at the start of Grade 1, the child recognizes a few words found in their surroundings, such as the name of each family member. They can also find words that rhyme. They're generally curious and love being told stories. In Grades 1 and 2, the child recognizes many words by sight and decodes simple words. They're able to read and understand simple sentences. The further your little one advances in school, the more they develop their reading skills, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. They'll need to decode words less and less, since they'll quickly identify a larger number of words, faster and more easily. They'll also develop increasingly complex and elaborate reading strategies. They'll be able to make connections, predict what happens next in the story, find strategies when comprehension breaks down, and so on.

Possible obstacles

While reading is a very important tool in everyday life, learning it can be a problem for many children. The LD@school² platform gives a very thorough overview of the main difficulties that can arise along your little one's path. I'll summarize a few of them.

• If your child has difficulties with phonetic encoding (matching a letter with its corresponding phoneme), they may have trouble:
  • recognizing the shapes of letters;
  • learning the sound that goes with each letter of the alphabet;
  • correctly matching the right sound to the right letter;
  • decoding by blending two letters;
  • dividing a word into syllables.

• If the difficulties are with word recognition, they may show up as trouble:
  • recognizing letters and words;
  • reading expressively while respecting punctuation.

• Your child may have difficulties with visual processing. If so, they may complain of sore eyes and show signs of fatigue during reading tasks. They will also have trouble:
  • recognizing the different letters;
  • decoding;
  • reading continuously (they'll skip words and lose their place);
  • reading syllables without reversing letters;
  • telling apart letters that look alike (for example: b, d, p, q).

When it comes to decoding, your child may confuse certain phonemes. Some sounds are easier to mix up. This can be due to the letters looking alike in writing, but also to the way the child has to articulate to produce the sound. Here are a few common examples:

• “b,” “d,” “p” and “q”
• “v” and “f”
• “d” and “t”
• “j” and “ch”

In my practice, I've met many worried parents who wondered whether their child might be dyslexic because they mixed up certain letters when reading and writing. Your little one may confuse letters without having dyslexia. If you have concerns, I recommend consulting a learning specialist (orthopedagogue) who can determine whether or not the difficulty is due to a disorder. They can also guide you by giving you ideas for interventions to do at home. In addition, if decoding syllables and words is hard for your child, they may:

• experience cognitive overload, because the task takes a lot of energy;
• have difficulty remembering what they've read;
• have difficulty reading continuously and fluently;
• put so much effort into decoding that they don't understand what they've read.

Some students have reading difficulties but go unnoticed for a long time. They may read fluently but not understand what they're reading. These students have developed compensatory strategies and manage to locate answers in the text during reading assessments. However, when they have to make connections or interpret information, the difficulties are more apparent.

How can you help?

Okay, that can sound scary! But don't worry! If you're concerned about difficulties your child has with reading, you can put in place little activities to work on the difficulties. You can also talk to your child's teacher to share your concerns and get their point of view. If your child is seen by a learning specialist at school, you can also contact them for ideas on which interventions to do at home to help your child. As for me, I suggest a few activities that could easily be set up at home.

Working on letter recognition and the sound of each letter

• Have your child pick letters (for example, Scrabble tiles or magnetic letters) and ask them to name them. Then ask them to find words that begin with that letter or sound.
• Go on letter or sound hunts. They can take place in the house, at the park, at the grocery store, in the car, anywhere! Ask your child to find something that starts with a particular letter or sound. It can be done as a race or by racking up points, it's up to you!

Working on blending letters

• Use magnetic letters on the fridge and ask your child to read the syllables that are formed when the letters are put together.
• With Scrabble-style letters, place two letters side by side and ask the child to say the syllable that's formed. Start with a consonant and a vowel. Then, when your child is more comfortable, move on to the sequence “consonant, consonant and vowel” (example: fle, bra).
• Ask your little one to find words that rhyme or to break words into syllables.

Working on decoding speed

• Use the weekly word lists from the school year to build vocabulary and ask your child to read the words while you time them (that way you can concretely track their progress from one try to the next)
• Practise reading nonsense words: ask your child to put syllables together to create words that don't exist, a very effective technique with children who tend to try to guess words by reading only the first letters!

Working on reading comprehension

After reading a text, ask your child to:

• identify the important information;
• draw a picture of what they read;
• predict what happens next in the story;
• give their opinion about the story;
• summarize what they read.

To finish, on the La CLEF.tv (in French) platform, Julie Provencher offers activities for reading with your child. You'll find playful, fun suggestions by following this link: https://laclef.tv/series/julie/ (in French). In my opinion, it's possible (and very important) to help your child learn to read and to do it while having fun, and that's exactly what Julie offers with her activities.

I hope this article has helped you understand the path behind learning to read and that, if your little one is having difficulties, you've found a few ideas to help them. As parents, do you have other activity suggestions to help your child with reading?

References:

¹Éducatout: “https://www.educatout.com/edu-conseils/enfants-besoins-particuliers/chroniques/qu-est-ce-que-la-conscience-phonologique-et-l-importance-de-la-travailler-en-bas-age.htm”

² TA@l’école: “https://www.taalecole.ca/apprendre-au-cerveau” Giasson, J. (2003). La lecture. De la théorie à la pratique (Reading: From Theory to Practice). 2^nd edition. Gaëtan Morin Éditeur. Chenelière Éducation. Montreal.

 

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