Dad’s Playbook: Coaching Kids to Read

Our alphabet has only 26 letters, but it’s one of the most powerful tools on the planet. When you put letters together, you get a newspaper sports column, the script for Star Wars, or instructions for building a model car.   
 

Coaching children to read is one of the best ways to help them succeed in the game of life. In fact, every minute you spend reading and talking with your child pays off. Here are three ways you, as a dad, can prepare your child to learn how to read and write:

Play games with words

Every spoken word is a series of sounds. Children need to hear how sounds in words go together. “Hat” and “cat” are almost the same word; only the beginning sounds in these words are different. But that one letter's sound makes a huge difference.

If you see a boat, say to your child, “Hey, look at that coat in the water!” She will know it’s actually a boat, and probably tell you so! At dinner, ask her to pass you her fish…she’ll correct you right away that you meant dish, not fish. 

 Point out words

Words are everywhere: on signs, maps, billboards, cereal boxes, money, birthday cards, and so on. Think of every word as a chance to help your child become a better reader.
 

Point out words to your child wherever you see them. Say them out loud. Take time to sound them out and show how the letters and combinations of letters make sounds. For example, standing at a street corner, watch for the sign to turn from “WALK” to “DON’T WALK,” and see who can shout the word “DON’T” first!

 Ask questions

Asking questions is a great way to know whether your young reader really understands what he reads. It stimulates his brain to think and ask questions himself.
 

When you’re reading a story with your child, stop and ask questions once in awhile: why did that character do that? What do you think would happen next? What would you do in that situation? Don’t just ask questions about books, ask questions about everything you see and do with your child—from what’s for dinner to what the coach should do on the next play.

Source: Adapted from Dad’s Playbook: Coaching Kids to Read, National Institute for Literacy, 2006.

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