Four-year-old Reading Lesson Ideas

Our focus for today will be on some ideas for reading lessons for a four-year-old. Pre-readers must be able to name the letters and say the letter sounds. Many children require a high number of repetitions to be able to attain mastery of these two skills. Continually using the same format can cause children to become disinterested and learning becomes a chore. Low interest leads to little or no focus on the part of the child. When this happens, you are losing more than you are gaining. Learning through games increases student engagement.

Initially, I like to begin to teach the alphabet using the letters in the child's name. There is a distinct advantage of using something very personal to introduce letters. Start with what is known and build on it. Place these letters on the table in the incorrect order and ask the student to name them. As soon as the child can name all of these letters, continue to add new letters one at a time. Another great strategy is to teach the letters in alphabet order while singing the alphabet song. This will enable the student to teach himself. Movements cement learning, so add meaningful movements to each letter sound. (Sound Moves)

Play Alphabet Tic-Tac-Toe by putting letters in the boxes before the start of the game. When a box is selected and the letter can be named, an X goes into the box. This same format can also be played to practice the letter sounds.

Alphabet Flash Cards using MRH Playing Cards is another way to increase the automaticity of either letter naming or letter sounds. Be sure you time your child to see how long it takes to get through the pack. Keep a graph to show improvement, and be sure to share it with the child. To provide some handwriting experience, write or show an uppercase letter. The child must write the lowercase partner.

There are so many easy games that will amuse your little learner. Do not be content to do the same thing every day!  

More another day!