Little readers become great: the stages of learning to read in children

Reading, a long journey!

Well before reading, there is sound recognition. The child recognizes different sounds orally and manipulates them to form words. They can find words that start with a particular sound or a word in which they hear that sound. Then comes learning the letters of the alphabet. The child must name them, but also be able to say the sound each one makes. They also become aware that words (oral or written) are composed 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) "bbb" heard in the words "boat" or "baby". It can also be the sound corresponding to a small combination of letters, as in the examples "in," "an," "oi," or "on." 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, they are said to be decoding. They go syllable by syllable first. They divide the word into syllables and often have to blend the read syllables to identify the word. Thus, they will read: "m" + "a," "ma"; "m" + "om," "mom"; "ma" + "mom," "mommy." At this stage, reading is arduous and takes a lot of time. It requires a lot of effort and concentration from your child. This stage is nevertheless necessary for them to properly identify each phoneme. Over time, the child will develop their reading skills. They will 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 and recognize them automatically (thanks in particular to the famous sight words often used in first grade!).

But what else?

According to Giasson (2003), in kindergarten and the beginning of first grade, the child recognizes some words present in their environment, for example, the first name of each family member. They can also find rhyming words. They are generally curious and enjoy listening to stories. In the first cycle of primary school, the child recognizes several words globally and decodes simple words. They are able to read and understand simple sentences. The further your little one progresses in their schooling, the more they develop their reading skills, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. They will need to decode words less and less as they will identify a greater number of words more quickly and easily. They will also develop increasingly complex and elaborate reading strategies. They will be able to make connections, predict the rest of the story, find strategies when there is a loss of comprehension, etc.

Possible obstacles

While reading is a very important tool in everyday life, learning it can cause problems for many children. The TA@school² platform presents in a very comprehensive way the main difficulties that can stand in your little one's way. I will summarize a few for you.

• If your child has difficulties with phonetic encoding (associating the letter with its corresponding phoneme), they might have difficulty with:
  • recognizing the shape of letters;
  • learning the sound corresponding to the letters of the alphabet;
  • correctly associating the right sound with the right letter;
  • decoding by blending two letters;
  • dividing a word into syllables.

• If the difficulties lie in word recognition, the manifestations can be difficulties with:
  • recognizing letters and words;
  • reading expressively while respecting punctuation.

• Your child may have difficulties with visual processing. If this is the case, they may complain of eye strain and show signs of fatigue during reading tasks. They will also have difficulty with:
  • recognizing different letters;
  • decoding;
  • reading continuously (they will skip words and lose their place in the text);
  • reading syllables without reversing letters;
  • identifying similar-looking letters (for example: b, d, p, q).

When it comes to decoding, it is possible that they confuse certain phonemes. Some sounds are easier to mix up. This can be due to the similarity of the letters in writing, but also because of how the child has to articulate to produce the sound. Here are some common examples:

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

In my practice, I have met many worried parents who wondered if their child might be dyslexic because they mixed up certain letters when reading and writing. It is possible for your little one to confuse letters without having dyslexia. If you have concerns about this, I recommend consulting a remedial teacher who will be able to determine whether the difficulty is due to a disorder or not. They can also guide you by providing intervention strategies to use at home. Moreover, if decoding syllables and words is difficult for your child, they may:

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

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

How to help them?

Well, that can be scary! But don't worry! If you are concerned about your child's reading difficulties, you can implement small activities to work on those difficulties. You can also discuss it with your child's teacher to share your concerns and get their perspective. If your child is receiving remedial teaching at school, you can also contact the intervention specialist for ideas on what interventions to do at home to help your child. I will suggest a few activities that could easily be implemented at home.

Working on letter recognition and their sounds

• Ask your child to pick out letters (e.g., Scrabble letters, magnetic letters) and ask them to identify them. Then ask them to find words that start with that letter or sound.
• Go on letter or sound hunts. These 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 accumulating points, it's up to you!

Working on blending letters

• Use magnetic letters on the refrigerator and ask your child to read the syllables created when the letters are arranged.
• With Scrabble-type letters, place two letters side-by-side and ask the child to name the created syllable. Start with a consonant and a vowel. Then, when your child is more comfortable, continue with "consonant, consonant, and vowel" (example: fre, bra).
• Ask your little one to find rhyming words or to break words into syllables.

Working on decoding speed

• Use the weekly word lists used during the school year to develop vocabulary and ask your child to read the words while timing them (you can then concretely note progress from one attempt to the next).
• Read non-words: ask your child to combine syllables to create words that don't exist, a very effective technique with children who tend to guess words by only reading the first letters!

Working on reading comprehension

After reading a text, ask your child to:

• identify important information;
• draw what they have read;
• predict the rest of the story;
• give their opinion on the story;
• summarize their reading.

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

I hope this article has helped you understand the journey behind learning to read and that, if your little one has difficulties, you have found some ideas to help them. As parents, do you have any other suggestions for activities to help your child with reading?

Resources:

¹Educatout: "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"

²Ta@school: "https://www.taalecole.ca/apprendre-au-cerveau" Giasson, J. (2003). La lecture. De la théorie à la pratique. 2^e édition. Gaëtan Morin Éditeur. Chenelière Éducation. Montréal.

 

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