How to Teach Reading Skills

Source : an eHow contributor , ehow.com

  

If you know how to read, then you have the ability to teach reading skills to another person. Reading skills build upon one another and move the student toward more fluent reading. Here is how to teach reading skills.

 Instructions  

1. Introduce the student to books. The very first reading skill that any student learns is familiarity with the written word. Give your student a book to hold. Read the words to him so he can make the connection that the words have meaning. Show him that the words run left to right and from top to bottom. 
2. Teach letters and letter sounds. The next reading skill a student needs to be taught is that each letter has a sound. Learning the alphabet song and identifying the sound(s) that each letter makes will help the student master this reading skill.
3. Show the student how to sound out words. Once a student knows his letter sounds, he is ready to begin reading words in a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern, such as "Cat" or "Dog." Ask the student to tell you the sound of each letter in the word and then help him discover that he can decipher what the word is by putting the sounds together. 
4. Introduce sight words. Words that are used frequently in the English language, such as “the” or “and,” are called sight words. Students learn these words best through repetition. Encourage the student to read books, write worksheets and do other activities (like Sight Word Bingo) to help them memorize sight words.
5. Teach letter blends. After the child masters the reading skills listed above, he is ready to learn about letter blends, such as "th" and "ch." Tell the student what sounds each letter blend makes. Encourage the student to read book, write worksheets, and do other activities to help them master letter blends. 
6. Provide a journal. Many students master their reading skills in conjunction with writing. Provide your student with a journal and encourage him to write in the journal daily. Allow the student to sound out what he is trying to say, even if the spelling is not correct. If the student can read back what he has written to you, even if the words are spelled incorrectly, he is working toward mastering his reading skills.
7. Move toward fluency. The more advanced reading skills move toward correct spelling, vocabulary and a transition from “learning to read” over into “reading to learn.”