Learning to read is one of the greatest milestones a child can reach during their early school years. It can be an absolute breeze for some children and a real struggle for others – but when those first few words fall into place, the doors to a wonderful world of reading will soon open. Whether you’re a teacher, a homeschooler or a parent who is simply trying to navigate their way through the Covid pandemic, you can discover five top tips to help children or students learn to read at home below.

Read out loud

Reading out loud is a hugely effective way of helping children understand the connection between the spoken and written word. Many pre-school children will already be familiar with listening to stories or reading books with grown-ups. They’ll be able to turn pages independently and identify objects, characters or events in the pictures – this may not seem like a significant reading leap to a grown-up but it really is! Fun board books with just a few words on the page or a few short sentences can help introduce children to the idea that stories are, in fact, read.

You can find hundreds of fun and exciting picture books, which come with audio functions to help with word pronunciation and reading comprehension, on both the Pickatale app (30-days free for families) and Pickatale for Schools reading tool (completely free for educators and students). Browse the ‘Learning’ category in the Pickatale app or search for the ‘Level 1’ books in the Pickatale for Schools app to get young readers started.

Talk about phonics & letter sounds

Learning the phonetic alphabet is instrumental in teaching children how to read. ABC books, alphabet charts, puzzles, audio guides, videos and apps are all easy and accessible ways to show little ones how to break down words by sounding them out. For example: A = ah, B = buh, C = cuh, D = duh, E = eh, and so on and so forth.*

Through understanding phonics, children will be able to learn how to read unfamiliar words, so it’s a really important skill to help them master. All that’s left to remember is to be patient and to always take any new learning at your child or student’s pace.

*Tip - it's recommended parents further research the correct way to pronounce the pure sounds of the alphabet to further help children when they learn to blend words down the line. If the letter sounds are pronounced incorrectly, this can stress/unstress certain words and make reading more challenging.