Although making such a bold statement may seem outrageous to you, I can comfortably say that yes, a child can definitely learn to read a book in just 30 days.
Of course I wouldn’t be saying this if I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes and heard that many others have done it too!
How is this possible?
Well, when most people start teaching their children to read, they have an idea of what they want to achieve. Having a clear goal in mind allows you to map out the necessary steps to make sure you achieve it.
Children are amazing learners, and the sooner you can start teaching them to read, the faster they will learn and the easier it will be; both for them and for you.
So what do you have to do?
Set the right short-term goals
The first thing to do is set the right short-term goals. This is crucial if you plan to homeschool your child. Without goals you are setting yourself up for failure.
Reading is a lifelong process and we all encounter and learn new words every day. The same applies to your child. So, set a goal for your child to read a specific book within 30 days. Make sure it’s simple (it’s her first book to read, after all) and age-appropriate.
Take time to read with your child
You will be surprised at how easily children learn new words. Spending time reading with your child is vital. There is a simple rule of thumb that works well when teaching your child to read:
read to your child
Read with your child
and then let your child read to you on his own.
By applying these 3 easy steps, you are well on your way to teaching your child to read.
Common words in a language
Now, when you read a book, you will see that it contains many simple or common words; words like me, he, when, and, is, etc.
Each language contains approximately 100 common words that make up the core of that language. These are commonly repeated words.
These common words cover approximately 50% of all written material in the English language and according to Paul Kropp in “The Reading Solution”a third of all our writing is made up of just twenty-two words (other sources give this number as 25 words).
So if your child can read these 22 words, they’ll already be able to read at least a third of a book. Then building on these words is simply the next step in getting your child to read and understand more of the book.
The best way to start
Start by teaching your child these 100 common words (starting with the 25 most common words). Once you’ve done this, add a few other words that your child finds interesting (a good idea is to include words you’ll find in her first book).
Turn these words into sentences and soon they’ll be ready to graduate with their new book.
Repetition, repetition, repetition is the key! The more you review the same words, the faster your child will learn and remember them.
Avoid reading wars
Don’t get caught up in the war between phonetics and sight-reading methods. What no one wants to admit is that the two methods go hand in hand. However, when teaching a very young child, it is much easier to begin using sight reading (since most of the 100 common words are sight words anyway), than phonics.
If you develop your child’s “reading confidence,” you will automatically want to progress toward using phonics because this is the way your child will gain “reading independence.”
If you make your child’s reading experience easy and enjoyable, you’ll soon be begging you for more!