Posted Nov. 26, 2023

We can probably all agree that learning how to read is incredibly important. It may be perhaps one of the most essential skills to be mastered for a successful life. But in our digital culture, the idea of actually reading can be lost or even hidden. With YouTube, TikTok, Netflix, etc...., our world is saturated with visuals. I’m not against that because I know our brains store info in pictures. If you think back to a special event in your life, images pop up, not a written story about the event.

Reading is a mysterious process. I still remember “See Spot Run, Run Spot Run” in 2nd grade. “Educators” assume that by building up sentences to be more complex each year, adding new words through “spelling”, that someday you’ll know how to read. Some do, but a shocking number of kids are graduating with very limited or no reading skills.

Researchers know that a child can learn to read in just 40-50 hours. It doesn’t take years. It’s about motivation. When a child decides he wants to understand what all these squiggly lines mean, he can race along from non-reader to proficient reader in a matter of months.

So what triggers that exciting journey? You! Your kids want to be just like you. If you are watching TV, video games, swiping your phone, etc., then that must be what is important. Really?

If you're “reading” my e-mail newsletters (which most of you are), then you are likely dealing with new readers. Let’s try an experiment. Grab a fun kids book. Ask the kids to mentally paint a picture of each page as you read it. Don’t let them see what is in the book. After each page (give them plenty of time), ask them to describe their mental picture. Do the next page. When you have reached the end, ask them to retrieve their mental pictures and retell the story. Then let them see just the words that go with their mental images. Finally, let them see an illustrator’s visualization of the words. Don’t let them be disappointed in their visual image vs a professional illustrator. Remind them that even the pro started somewhere simpler.

The goal is to connect the words with the pictures in their mind. They are not just stand-alone marks to be memorized. Try reading the story with each of you reading out loud every other word. Put your finger under each word. Good readers just glance at a word and know it.

Fantastic readers can actually read a paragraph that has only the first and last letters of each word correct. The letters in the middle can be anything as long as they are the right number of letters for that word. The key is, the words are in context, and we just seem to “know” what the next word is supposed to be.

Back to “teaching” reading. We can’t! Kids have to get to the point in their mental development that they want it. If we try to shove it on them when they aren’t interested, then resentment to reading builds up. Now there’s even a bigger problem.

In reality, they are surrounded by words – STOP, YIELD, GIANT EAGLE, STARBUCKS, HOBBY LOBBY, etc. They are figuring those signs out without you “teaching” it. When you say you’re going to the grocery, they have not only a mental picture of the building, both inside and out, but they are also visualizing the store sign. As you pick out their favorite foods, the words on the package are being recognized. If you showed them a little tiny donut and asked them what cereal this was, they would instantly know it’s a cheerio. But their mind would also pull up a picture of the box with the name blazed across it. I used to read lots of comic books and I know that helped to increase my reading accuracy and speed.

This is my personal opinion – don’t try to teach reading with phonics. It will stunt their ability by teaching them to sound out each letter. You want them to read whole words, so the reading begins to flow. If they struggle with a new word, you could just help them see the small pieces of words that are inside the new word. It’s kind of like phonics, but they are using it as a tool rather than a crutch.

The most important reading lesson is them seeing you loving to read. Do you stop and share a thought that came to you because of what you are reading? Are you saying “That’s a cool idea”, “I never thought of it that way.” “So that’s how it works.” These are all evidence that you are internalizing what you are reading – it’s becoming a part of your life. It’s telling your kids that continuing to learn is a lifelong event, and reading is the key to it. They”re listening!

That’s what good play is all about.

No directions, nobody telling you that
“you can’t do it that way”.

It’s pure discovery!