Reading with Children

What techniques are used when teaching toddlers how to read and write?

In what way should you begin teaching toddlers how to read and write? I'm trying to teach my son.

Public Comments

1. The phonics method is probably the best known and widely used method to teach reading and writing in the English language. It relies on children being taught the alphabet first. They learn the names of the letters and the sounds they make. Once they have learn the letter sounds they will begin to blend two letters together to make simple words then three letters, then four and so forth.
2. I have a 14, 11, and 3 year old. My oldest 2 are avid readers, the youngest knows how to sing the alphabet, and I am starting to point out what the letters look like. With my middle, I did the same, then taught her how to write her name. By the time she went into Kindergarten, she was able to identify all the letters and numbers, but only really knew how to spell her name. If you lay a good foundation, they will do well reading and writing. Don't get into too big a rush to teach them. Children are naturally curious and when the questions start is the best time to help them learn. Good luck! ;)
3. First you should read to your child everyday. This will make them interested in books, offer puppets and flannel board stories as well. I would sing to your child the ABCs and 123s and let them learn the songs now and when he gets a little older you can begin to teach him to write his name. The important thing is that your child should be exposed to books at all times.
4. there are two schools of thought for teaching children to read. one is "phonics" which has been explained and one is "whole language" which teaches sight words or high frequency words in addition to learning to spell words phonetically. I used a great system with the children in my class who are 3.5 t0 4 years of age. It is called Jolly Phonics and can be ordered on E-Bay. It is a British literacy system geared toward the early years and from my own experience is proven to work. It combines both approaches and has proved the most successful. In addition, you should read to you child everyday to foster a love of books and the written word.
5. I don't think it's right to just throw kids in front of the TV...but, I bought the leapfrog dvd's for my two year old and she already knows her alphabet, identifies letters and knows the sounds, and is starting to put letters together. It's amazing. You should look into getting them.