Support your child's reading journey from pre-reading skills at age 2 through independent reading by age 7. Covers phonological awareness, phonics basics, sight words, early reading practice, and building fluency.
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Pre-Reading Skills (Ages 2-4)
Read aloud to your child for 15-20 minutes daily
Reading aloud is the single most effective thing you can do to prepare a child to read. Point to words as you read, use different voices for characters, and pause to let your child fill in words they know. Aim for 1,000 books before kindergarten — that is about 3 books per day for a year.
Visit the library weekly and let your child choose books
Keep books in every room so reading happens naturally
Build phonological awareness through rhyming and word play
Phonological awareness — hearing and manipulating sounds in words — is the strongest predictor of future reading success. Sing nursery rhymes, play 'what rhymes with cat?' games, and clap out syllables in words. These are oral skills; no letters or books needed yet.
Sing rhyming songs and recite nursery rhymes daily
Play 'I Spy' with beginning sounds: 'I spy something that starts with /b/'
Teach your child to recognize and write their name
Start with uppercase letters since they are easier to distinguish. Use a thick crayon or marker. Trace the letters on paper, write them in sand or shaving cream, and point out their name on their cubby, artwork, and belongings. Most children can write their first name by age 4.
Introduce the alphabet through play, not drills
Sing the alphabet song and point to letters on an alphabet chart
Use magnetic letters on the fridge for hands-on exploration
Point out letters in the environment: signs, cereal boxes, license plates
Develop print awareness: show that text carries meaning
Run your finger under text as you read. Point out print in everyday life: menus, street signs, labels at the grocery store. Explain that we read left to right and top to bottom. When your child scribbles and says 'this says...,' that is print awareness developing.
Phonics Basics (Ages 4-5)
Teach letter sounds before letter names
Knowing that 's' says /sss/ is more useful for reading than knowing it is called 'ess.' Teach 3-4 letter sounds per week, starting with high-frequency consonants (s, t, m, r, n) and short vowels (a, i, o). Use a keyword for each: 's' as in 'sun,' 't' as in 'top.'
Start with consonants: s, t, m, r, n, p, b, d, f, g
Introduce short vowel sounds: a (apple), i (itch), o (octopus), u (up), e (egg)
Practice blending sounds into words
Start with two-sound words: 'at,' 'in,' 'up.' Then move to CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant): 'cat,' 'sit,' 'hop.' Say each sound slowly, then slide them together faster: /c/... /a/... /t/... 'cat!' This blending skill is the breakthrough moment in learning to read.
Blend 2-sound combinations: at, in, up, am, it
Blend CVC words: cat, sit, hop, run, bed, pig
Practice segmenting words into individual sounds
Segmenting is the reverse of blending. Say 'What sounds do you hear in the word dog?' (/d/ /o/ /g/). Use tokens or blocks — one per sound — to make it physical. This skill directly supports spelling later.
Introduce 10-15 high-frequency sight words
Words like 'the,' 'is,' 'and,' 'was,' 'to,' and 'you' appear so often that recognizing them on sight speeds up reading dramatically. Practice 2-3 new words per week with flashcards, writing, and finding them in books. Mastering these 15 words covers about 25% of all text a child will encounter.
Start with: the, and, is, it, in, to, a, I, he, she, was, you, they, my, of
Use decodable books that match the phonics patterns your child knows
Decodable books use only the letter sounds and sight words your child has learned. They build confidence because the child can actually read every word on the page. Predictable or leveled books rely on picture clues and guessing, which builds different skills but not decoding.
Start with silent-e words (make, bike, hope, cute) and then vowel teams (rain, boat, see, play). Teach one pattern at a time and practice it for a full week before adding the next. Mixing too many patterns at once creates confusion.
Practice silent-e words: make, like, home, cute, name
Practice vowel teams: ai/ay, ee/ea, oa/ow, oo
Expand sight word vocabulary to 50-100 words
Add 3-5 new sight words per week. Review old words regularly — children need 10-15 exposures to retain a sight word. Make a word wall in their room, play memory games, and hunt for sight words in books. By the end of kindergarten, most children know 50-75 sight words.
Practice reading aloud for 10-15 minutes daily
Let your child read to you, a sibling, or a pet. Resist the urge to jump in and correct every error — wait 5 seconds and see if they self-correct. If they are stuck, give the sound of the first letter. If they are still stuck, tell them the word and move on. Fluency comes from volume, not perfection.
Ask comprehension questions after reading
Ask 'who, what, where' questions about the story
Ask prediction questions: 'What do you think will happen next?'
Connect the story to personal experience: 'Has something like that happened to you?'
Building Fluency and Independence (Ages 6-7)
Transition from decodable books to leveled readers
Use the 'five finger rule' to check if a book is at the right level: open to any page and have your child read it. If they miss 5 or more words, it is too hard. If they miss 0-1, it is too easy. The sweet spot is 2-4 unknown words per page.
Practice re-reading familiar books to build speed and expression
Re-reading the same book 3-4 times is one of the fastest ways to build fluency. Each re-read is smoother, faster, and more expressive. This is not lazy — it is how the brain automates word recognition. Encourage your child to read 'like they are telling the story.'
Introduce chapter books for read-aloud sessions
Read chapter books aloud that are above your child's independent reading level. This builds vocabulary, listening comprehension, and a love of stories that keeps them motivated to improve their own reading. Stop at cliffhangers to create excitement for the next session.
Establish daily independent reading time of 15-20 minutes
Let your child choose their own books from a curated selection
Read alongside them — children who see parents reading become readers
Celebrate progress and keep it fun
Track books read on a chart or reading log. Celebrate milestones: 25 books, 50 books, first chapter book. Visit the library for special events. If your child resists reading, switch genres — many reluctant readers respond to comics, joke books, or nonfiction about topics they love.
Frequently Asked Questions
At what age should a child start learning to read?
Most children begin recognizing letters between ages 2-3, start sounding out simple words by ages 4-5, and read simple sentences independently by age 6-7. However, there is a wide range of normal — some kids read fluently at 4, while others do not click until age 7 or 8. Research shows that pushing formal reading instruction before a child is developmentally ready can actually backfire, creating frustration and negative associations with books.
What is the best method to teach a child to read?
Systematic phonics instruction, where children learn letter-sound relationships in a structured sequence, is supported by the strongest body of research. Programs like Orton-Gillingham, Jolly Phonics, and Science of Reading-aligned curricula follow this approach. Pair phonics practice with daily read-alouds (20 minutes per day) to build vocabulary and comprehension skills simultaneously.
How many sight words should a kindergartner know?
By the end of kindergarten, most students are expected to recognize 20-50 high-frequency sight words (like "the," "and," "is," "was"). The Dolch list contains 220 words that make up 50-75% of all text in children's books. Practice 3-5 new words per week using flashcards, word walls, or writing activities — rushing through too many at once leads to poor retention.
What are the signs that a child might have dyslexia?
Early warning signs include difficulty rhyming by age 4, trouble learning letter names and sounds by age 5, and consistently guessing at words instead of sounding them out by first grade. Reversing letters like b/d is common until age 7 and is not by itself a sign of dyslexia. If reading difficulties persist past mid-first grade despite quality instruction, request a formal evaluation through your school district — it is free under federal law.
How much should a child read per day outside of school?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends at least 20 minutes of reading per day. A study tracking 2.8 million students found that those who read just 15 minutes per day encountered 1 million more words per year than non-readers, and scored in the 90th percentile on standardized reading tests. Reading aloud to your child counts toward this total for pre-readers, and audiobooks count for reluctant readers.