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Reading and Literacy Strategies

Children learn to read by understanding the sounds and meanings of words.

Children with learning disabilities may have difficulty learning to read. The most effective way to teach literacy to children with learning disabilities is through systematic phonics-based instruction and comprehension. Comprehension is about helping your child to comprehend or understand the meaning of what she reads. Phonics instruction is when your child is taught that letters have particular sounds and that these letter-sound associations can be used to sound out unfamiliar words. When we teach comprehension, we ask children to think about the meaning of what they have read or heard. Focusing on both phonics and comprehension gives children with disabilities the tools they need to decode new words and read independently. You can help your child learn phonics and comprehension skills, but it’s most important that you and your child share in the joy of reading together.

Children use many of their senses to learn.

Children with learning disabilities learn best when they use many of their senses to get information. Multi-sensory instruction allows the child to see, hear, touch, and act out words. For example, to learn letters children may read the printed letter, say the letter name, shape the letter out of clay, trace the letter onto paper, and form their bodies into the shape of the letter.

Promote early literacy today.

Make reading fun – encourage your child to pick books that interest her or look through a magazine that she wants to read. Also:

• Read aloud to your child regularly. Read picture books, story books, poems, etc.
• Model healthy reading habits – it is important that your child sees you and the rest of the family reading books and enjoying them!
• Help your child pick books to look at or read alone. Ask his teacher for help in knowing your child's independent reading level.
• Play games and use activities to practice literacy skills, such as letter sound and rhymes. (Visit the PBS Parents Reading and Language site for more activity ideas.)
• Use natural opportunities daily to help your child be more aware of literacy and to “read” more. There are everyday opportunities, such as an envelope with your address on it, directions to a party, or the words and pictures on a cereal box.

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