When Teaching Babies to Read is Phonics Taught?
A woman on my Yahoo Groups posted this question, which is a very common question that deserves an answer.
Question
I'm just wondering, when you teach a baby to read, are they being taught to memorize words or are they actually being taught phonics? In my opinion, unless you learn phonics, you don't truly know how to read.
Answer 1
Children who under 2yo nearly always need to be taught using the sight word method. However, if they are exposed to enough words in that manner they can intuit the rules of phonics and be able to read any word they are presented with. My 7yo daughter is a case in point. I taught her from 3mo to about 2yrs via sight word flash cards. From 2yrs to 4yrs we played a lot with words. She now reads anything with ease except for college level books.
The beauty of the sight word method taught in this manner is that children figure out the rules of phonics all by themselves which is the best way to learn something!
Children who are older than 2yo can be taught with straight phonics or the sight word path to phonics. I have tried teaching 4 year olds with phonics. For us, it was difficult. If I could rewind life knowing what I know now I surely would have started all my children on the sight word path to phonics reading program when they were babies. - Laurie Mom of 10 kids
The beauty of the sight word method taught in this manner is that children figure out the rules of phonics all by themselves which is the best way to learn something!
Children who are older than 2yo can be taught with straight phonics or the sight word path to phonics. I have tried teaching 4 year olds with phonics. For us, it was difficult. If I could rewind life knowing what I know now I surely would have started all my children on the sight word path to phonics reading program when they were babies. - Laurie Mom of 10 kids
Answer 2
I as well taught both phonics to older children and sight words to younger children at a preschool in Japan (it was exclusively in English) and found that for the most part, the younger children who learned sight words were better readers, spellers, and excelled in reading aloud quickly and with comprehension. The older ones who got their phonics had to take the words apart rather than simply know what they were. We didn't have much success with them, but their parents insisted on the phonics regardless of what we said.
Both groups were reading, of course, but the younger kids looked like they were having fun and enjoying the stories - the older kids looked stressed about the words themselves.
All reading and learning is at the core memorization - but that doesn't mean it has to be rote. Children build up a foundation of information and then learn ways to grow that base on their own.
As a teacher, I highly recommend sight word teaching, and plan on teaching my own daughter this way as well (due in 4 weeks!!) from birth. - A.T.
Both groups were reading, of course, but the younger kids looked like they were having fun and enjoying the stories - the older kids looked stressed about the words themselves.
All reading and learning is at the core memorization - but that doesn't mean it has to be rote. Children build up a foundation of information and then learn ways to grow that base on their own.
As a teacher, I highly recommend sight word teaching, and plan on teaching my own daughter this way as well (due in 4 weeks!!) from birth. - A.T.
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Posted by Krista G. at 3/8/2010 4:19 PM 
Categories: how babies learn language
Tags: how to teach your baby to read babies learn phonics
Categories: how babies learn language
Tags: how to teach your baby to read babies learn phonics
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