The value of teaching a child to read is obvious, but there
is no point in reading anything without the ability to comprehend its meaning.
A toddler will learn to read words by seeing how they are formed from
individual letters, but when too much effort is going into the process of
decoding the words, this can have an impact on a child’s ability to grasp any
meaning from those words.
Some educators are of the opinion that analysis and
comprehension of a text should be taught before a toddler learns to read.
Others think that children should be allowed to develop skills in decoding and
word recognition before learning how to comprehend what they are reading.
The best way to improve reading comprehension is for a child
to learn it at the same time as developing the ability to process individual
letters and see how they combine to form a word and its associated sound.
When you read a piece of text, like this one you are reading
now, you are extracting information by processing the letters that form the words
and at the same time you are gathering a meaning from all the words that are
set up in lines of text.
To help a child to develop good skills in word recognition
and comprehension, you will need to use these three key strategies:
(a) Teaching word recognition,
(b) Developing vocabulary
(c) Active reading
Decoding and
Word Recognition
Teaching word recognition allows a child to recognize words
correctly. It’s only when we become fluent at decoding words that reading
becomes less of an effort.
Fluent reading requires fast decoding skills. Once a toddler
learns to read by developing the ability to decode words quickly, less goes
into the process of word recognition and there is more cognitive capacity
available for reading comprehension.
Developing
Vocabulary
Reading comprehension requires a good knowledge of
vocabulary, which is why it is critical for a toddler to learn to read at the
same time as acquiring new vocabulary. Testing has shown that young children
who are taught a hundred new words over a period of five months outperform
those who have not developed their vocabulary.
Reading helps to increase vocabulary and a toddler can learn
to read, the richer that child’s vocabulary will grow. A 1988 study revealed
that books written for children contain twice as many uncommon words when
compared to conversation between adults educated to the level of college
graduates.
Developing a daily habit of reading helps a child to build
vocabulary. Children extract meaning from unfamiliar vocabulary by associated the
words they read with their existing knowledge.
Improving
Comprehension
Active strategies help to improve reading comprehension.
When teaching a toddler to learn to read you should also ask questions about
what is happening in the story. Start a discussion about the characters and ask
about how the difficulties they face in the plot could be resolved.
A toddler can learn to read and develop skills in reading
comprehension at the same time, through a combination of three teaching strategies.
You need to understand the process of reading and what makes a good reader. You
should know the importance of allowing a child to grasp the meaning of
unfamiliar vocabulary and becoming an active reader.