Wondering how to teach your child to read? Discover step-by-step early literacy strategies, from letter recognition to decoding words, that build confidence and a love for reading.
Hello and welcome to this week’s mindset session. This will be a slightly longer post than usual, as we’re going to cover something very special.
We’re going to look at how to take your child from what we’ve been working on — learning letters, consonant sounds, and short vowel sounds — and take that to the next level. These are the initial steps or next steps in helping your child start reading. It’s essentially a short guide on how to teach a child to read with simple, foundational strategies.
It’s a very exciting phase in your child’s education!
One of the most effective ways to help your child become a confident reader is to make reading a source of joy, rather than just a task. Surround your child with books that match their interests, and let them choose what to explore - even if it's the same favorite story again and again.
Read aloud together daily, using expressive voices and pausing to talk about the pictures or wonder what will happen next. Celebrate books as gateways to adventure, knowledge, and imagination.
The goal is to create positive memories and associations with reading, so your child views books as a source of comfort and excitement, rather than a source of pressure. When children connect reading with enjoyment and closeness, they're more likely to develop a lasting love for it.
Your child might not be ready to take this additional step yet. We want to provide this information and these resources so that if your child is ready, you have what you need to move forward. But a lot of children at the age of 3-6 aren’t there yet, so if your child is still working on mastering letter recognition, especially the lowercase letters, make sure they have that down really well before trying to move on with how to teach your child to read.
They should also know the main consonant sounds and the short sounds of the vowels. If they’re not very proficient at those yet, just continue to work on that and know that it’s totally fine.
There’s a wide range of developmental readiness in terms of age. One of my children was ready at three, and another at six. If your child isn’t ready, you can just file this information away for when they are.
If you believe your child is ready to take the next steps towards reading, it's essential to understand that every child’s journey to reading is unique. Some children may grasp letter sounds and blending quickly, while others need more time or different approaches. Observe your child’s responses and adapt your methods as needed.
Children with learning differences or special needs might benefit from multisensory techniques, such as tracing letters in sand or using textured flashcards, to reinforce learning. The goal is to create a supportive environment where your child feels comfortable progressing at their own pace.
One thing you want to do throughout this process is to continue practicing, reviewing, and refreshing information that your child has already learned. Even as we move into these next steps, keep reviewing the main consonant sounds occasionally, especially the short vowel sounds. For some reason, those tend to get forgotten or mixed up over time. Do a quick refresher once in a while, even if your child has already mastered them.
Remember, short, regular practice sessions are often more effective than long, infrequent ones, as they help keep reading fresh and enjoyable without overwhelming your child.
Choosing the right approach to teaching your child to read can feel overwhelming, especially with so many programs and methods available. Not all reading programs are created equal. Research indicates that systematic, phonics-based instruction is the most effective approach for most children to learn to read, particularly those who may struggle with reading or have learning differences.
In a few chapters I’ll show you exactly what steps to take, and provide you a clear path forward, but if you prefer to use some other program to teach your child to read, then below are some things to keep in mind.
When evaluating a reading program or method, ask yourself the following:
Look for programs that introduce letter-sound relationships in a clear, step-by-step sequence. Children should master simple sounds and patterns before moving on to more complex ones.
Effective programs teach children to decode words by sounding them out, rather than relying on guessing from pictures or memorizing whole words. Your child should be encouraged to look at the letters and produce their corresponding sounds.
Children need plenty of chances to practice new skills, both in isolation (like reading individual words) and in context (like reading sentences or short stories). Good programs provide decodable texts - books that use only the letter-sound patterns your child has already learned.
The most effective methods engage more than one sense—seeing, hearing, speaking, and even moving. For example, children might trace letters while saying the sounds aloud, or use gestures to reinforce their learning.
Programs that encourage children to “guess” words based on pictures or context, rather than decoding, are less effective, especially for children who require more structured instruction.
Look for methods that explain what to do at each step and offer support when your child gets stuck.
While some programs emphasize “whole language” as the foundation, focusing on exposure to books and learning words by sight, these methods alone often do not provide enough structured phonics instruction for most children.
Phonics-based programs, on the other hand, systematically teach children how to decode words, which builds a strong foundation for lifelong reading.
Remember, the best reading programs are those that are structured, primarily phonics-based, and give your child plenty of supported practice. If you supplement with other resources, make sure they align with these principles.
While phonics forms the backbone of early reading (teaching children to decode words by sounding them out), many common words in English don’t follow regular phonetic rules. These irregular words like “the,” “said,” or “was” appear frequently in children’s books and can be challenging to decode using phonics alone.
A balanced approach means spending most of your time helping your child build strong phonics skills, while also introducing a few sight words occasionally. By learning to recognize these words instantly, children gain confidence and can read simple sentences more fluently. This combination supports both decoding skills and reading comprehension, making the transition to independent reading smoother.
When introducing sight words, focus on just a handful at a time and practice them regularly in context, such as in short phrases or simple stories. Continue to prioritize phonics, but recognize that memorizing some sight words is a helpful supplement, not a replacement.
Try incorporating sight word practice into your daily reading routine, but make sure you limit the number of total sight words you'll introduce to your child to only the necessary ones. Here's a list of 15 sight words to introduce to your early learner (step by step):
For example, write sight words on flashcards and play simple games, like matching, memory, or “find the word” in a story.
When reading together, pause and point out sight words, encouraging your child to read them aloud.
Remember, learning sight words takes time and repetition, so keep practice sessions short and encouraging.
While you’re either learning those consonant and short vowel sounds or reviewing them, you can also be doing some verbal games and exercises to help get your child ready for reading. One of these is segmenting words.
Take three-letter CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant), and teach your child how to segment or break them into individual sounds. It’s not about syllables here, because they’re one-syllable words; you want them to break each word into its individual letter sounds.
For example, with the word “bat,” they should be able to separate it into b-a-t sounds. Make it into a game: say the words really slowly, use funny accents, and sing them: anything it takes to help your child learn how to segment words into individual sounds.
Along with segmenting, help your child identify the first and last sounds of a word. You can even use longer words for this. Ask them, “What is the first sound in the word ______?” or, “What is the last sound in the word ______?” They should focus on the first or last letter sound, not the entire syllable. This can be done anywhere, such as in the car or at bath time, without needing books or paper.
Another activity to work on is rhyming. Read books, poems, songs, and nursery rhymes. Give your child a word and have them tell you a word that rhymes with it. Make up silly words that rhyme: anything that practices rhyming. You can do all of this at the same time you’re reviewing consonant sounds and short vowel sounds.
Once your child is proficient with individual letter sounds and short vowel sounds, the next step is to teach consonant blends. Learning consonant blends is an essential step in teaching a child how to read. We’ll be providing you with some flashcards, and you should cut these out so your child can focus on each blend separately: seeing one at a time rather than a whole sheet of paper.
There are ending blends (like “-lk,” “-lp,” etc.) and beginning blends (like “pl-,” “tr-,” etc.). It’s not necessary for your child to distinguish which is which, but they do need to be able to say the sound of each letter and blend them together without inserting a vowel or a “schwa” between the letters. For example, lk should be l and k blended quickly together, and lp should be l and p.
Start with an amount that’s reasonable for your child - maybe five or ten blends - and move on from there.
Have a “mastered” pile and a “practice” pile. As they master new ones, add a few more to the practice pile. Keep going until they’re fluent and can read most of the blends without hesitation. Expect that this could take weeks. All children go at different paces.
Digraphs might look like blends at first because they’re also two consonants, but unlike blends, they make an entirely new sound when those two letters come together. We’re only learning three here: sh, ch, and th. You want to emphasize to your child that these are different because they create a whole new sound rather than blending two separate sounds.
We recommend cutting out these three cards lengthwise and folding them along the center line. One side is a keyword prompt for you to remind yourself of the sound, but when you show your child the card, you just ask them for the sound:
You can mark these cards in a special way: maybe with a highlighter, to remind your child they’re different and they need to remember the special sound these letter combinations make.
Another step is teaching your child about double letters. These are not exhaustive, but we cover some of the most common double letters they’ll see at the ends of words: ff, ll, ss, and ck. The key idea is that two identical letters together just make a single sound. For example:
Let them know they don’t need to pronounce both letters separately.
Once your child has gathered all this information and practiced the blends, digraphs, and double letters, they’re ready to begin decoding actual words. They’ll start with CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant) like “cat,” “mat,” “pat,” etc., and we’ll give you plenty of word cards to practice.
Before starting CVC words, teach them the words an and am as a unit, because the letter “a” makes a slightly different sound before n and m—more like a short “e” sound. When children try to sound out “ham” as h-a-m with the usual /a/ sound, it can throw them off. So, let them read an or am together as a single unit. We’ve bolded an or am in our word cards so it stands out and reminds them to read it as one piece.
Print out the word cards and cut them out so that your child can see each word separately. Some children benefit from using their finger to point to each letter as they sound it out, then running their finger under the whole word as they blend the sounds together. Others might prefer you to do the pointing. Some benefit from covering letters with an index card, revealing them one at a time.
Remember, when you come across a sight word your child has practiced, encourage them to recognize it instantly rather than trying to sound it out. This helps build fluency and makes reading more enjoyable.
Decoding is hard work, and some children need a tremendous amount of practice, while others pick it up quickly. If your child is really frustrated, give them a break. Sometimes, stepping away for a week or two helps things “click” when you come back. Even during a break, continue to review what they’ve already mastered: just enough to keep it fresh without overwhelming them.
Adjust your expectations and celebrate small milestones along the way. For children with attention or processing challenges, shorter, more frequent practice sessions can be more effective than longer ones. Remember, adapting your approach to fit your child’s unique learning style is a key part of helping them succeed.
We provide additional materials so you can move on to:
Reading only individual words can get boring, so we give you many words that you can mix and match to create new sentences. We also provide example phrases and sentences. A lot of these words are taken from The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss, which is a great starter book. They won’t be able to read every word in it, but it’s fun to read it together as they build confidence.
It’s perfectly normal for children to experience setbacks or go through periods where progress seems to stall. Stay patient and supportive. Sometimes skills take time to “click,” and every child progresses at their own pace.
It is hard work, and when they say it’s difficult, acknowledge that it is. Then remind them of the rewards: “Before you know it, you’ll be able to read books!”. This motivation is crucial in how to help your child read when they feel stuck. Talk about times they’ve done other hard things in the past. By validating their feelings but also showing faith in their abilities, you empower them to keep going.
There’s a fine line between jumping in too quickly to help and letting them struggle too long. You know your child best. Sometimes they need to hear how you do it several times before it clicks. There’s nothing wrong with modeling or helping them decode. You’re there as their partner, keeping it from becoming too frustrating or overwhelming.
These are the next steps to take your child from learning letters and mastering consonant and short vowel sounds to actually reading. If they’re not ready yet, you can tuck this information away and bring it out when they are. If they’re ready now, you have everything you need: the materials, the steps, and the techniques to help them start decoding words and sentences.
Reading in preschool can be a fun journey with the right activities and patience.
I hope this helps guide your child through this exciting new phase of their reading journey. Thanks for joining me this week, and we’ll see you next time!
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