“If you’re having to push [reading], maybe you’re going the wrong way.”
– Wynona Meredith, preschool teacher
A review of the current state of publicly funded preschool published in the journal of the Association for Psychological Science confirms that the benefits of preschool education are long-lasting – especially in preschool classrooms that are not overly structured. When it comes to teaching preschoolers to read, however, some say pushing too hard at too young of an age could backfire, turning them off to reading.
Two-and-a-half-year-old Ty loves books. Ty’s parents read him every night at bedtime, sometimes four or five books.
“We’re trying to get him to learn how to pronounce the words,” says Gregory, Ty’s father. “Basically start a sentence and let him try to finish it and follow with our fingers. I mean there’s no pressure for him to read the book.”
Experts have long recommended that reading with preschoolers helps them to develop language skills. But some critics, including a Tufts University Professor, worry that pushing reading for young children may actually frustrate them and turn them off to reading.
Preschool teacher Wynona Meredith says, “If you’re having to push, maybe you’re going the wrong way.”
Some teachers say the first step parents should take is to teach their children the meaning of words.
“Language is important. If that’s not addressed, what are you doing? What are you pushing towards? Because I don’t know what I’ve read anyway if I don’t understand all those things that make the language work,” says Ms. Meredith.
Teachers say it’s easy to teach kids the meaning of words. Parents can do that by cooking together, looking through magazines (not reading the article, just pointing to the pictures) and going down the street and pointing to the signs.
Gregory, Ty’s dad, says, “We’re not going to push him to do anything that he doesn’t want to do, but when it comes to books, it’s something he enjoys.”
What We Need To Know
Should preschoolers be taught to read? There is no simple answer. Some 3, 4, and 5 year olds are developmentally ready to tackle reading; others are not. By the time they are 7 years old, most children have begun to read.
Children become readers step-by-step, starting early in life. The U.S. Department of Education puts it this way: “You could say a baby starts on the road to becoming a reader the day she is born. Right away she hears sounds and sees movements. Every time you speak to her, sing to her, and respond to the sounds she makes, you strengthen her interest in language.”
Helping a child develop language skills is important in laying the foundation for developing reading skills. Experts agree that parents are often a child’s first and most important teacher when it comes to reading. “Talking to your child, reading aloud, making up stories and singing together, scribbling with crayons and looking for print on signs and at stores are all wonderful ways to encourage pre-reading skills in children under age 6,” says Joan LeFebvre of the University of Wisconsin.
The most successful readers are those children who have been read to a lot. It is best to read to your child early and often. Reading aloud to children helps them see that a book is a wonderful thing. When reading aloud, try to:
- Stop frequently to help your child make sense of the story
- Ask him to name pictures, complete the sentence or predict what will happen next
- Be patient about repeating the same story over and over. Children may be able to begin seeing patterns and figure out how reading works when requesting the same story repeatedly
- Set aside a regular time to read to your child every day.
- Follow the words with your finger so your child develops a sense that the words go from left to right on the page.
- Encourage your child to join in while you read. Pause to let them fill in a rhyming word or repeating line.
- Begin teaching the letters of the alphabet, starting with the letters in your child’s own name.
In addition, it is important to expose your child to books. Keep books in your house and visit the library frequently. The National Education Association reminds parents to set a good example as a reader. Let your child see you read at home every day.
Resources
- National Education Association
- University of Wisconsin-Extension
- United States Department of Education Guide to Helping Your Preschool Child
- Preschool Promises: Starting early on a new educational agenda for the United States
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