Teaching methods for literacy?

Question

I have bought a set of rubber stamps with letters on to help teach my 2yr old to read/write....any other ideas......

Answer 1

First of, I know it is tempting to get started early but the best thing to do is concentrate on building the skills needed for reading. Put pressure on them too early and you can have real problems - like the child of a friend of mine who went mute for a few years to avoid their well meant efforts to encourage his development.

Nursery rhymes are excellent for getting them to listen to the spoken word, including traditional sung counting games.
Memory can be improved by Pellman type games - show than hide a couple of toys under a cloth, and ask him if him/her can remember what the toys were. At this age, you can only expect
your toddler to remember a few and you should stick to what he/she can handle - not what you think your toddler should be able to - until older.
Reading to them is best. Ask them if they can find different things on the page.
Writing is way beyond a child of this age because of the hand eye co-ordination involved. Encourage drawing to help master the skill of using crayons, to make pencil holding easier when the time comes. Reading also demands physical skills way beyond a 2 yr old.

All play is learning of some sort - however undirected and aimless it seems to you - and should be fun. The golden rule is to stop an activity the minute a child start showing signs of boredom such as wriggling or wanting to play with something else. Also, children need their down time as much as the rest of us. Hot housing results in crippled adults (believe me I know a few people damaged this way) if attention is not paid to letting your child evolve naturally. They need to develop emotionally as much as intellectually. You cannot skip developmental stages if you want a well balanced human being at the end of it.

Answer 2

OK here goes! I am a Primary School teacher with over 17 years experience. Parents can do AMAZING things. Of course 2 years olds do not have the mental skills of 5 year olds but they learn to talk don't they? They really do have all the skills necessary to learn written as well as spoken language. The child does not have to be gifted.

2 years olds are thirsting for activities, but please, if you do this remember to regard teaching as a bonding exercise, something that is fun. If they don't want to play then leave it and don't show disappointment. Teach them because THEY want to not because YOU want them to.

I think you can legitimately email me through yahoo 360, but here are some sites

there is a yahoo blog for Prela2006uk at:
http://uk.blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-LBo.dnghaaNPIwiVNCQjYAh6CQ--?cq=1

Have a look at
http://www.time4learning.com/reading/preschool-reading-program.shtml

and try reading Glenn Doman et al - How To Teach Your Baby To Read

In fact you could do worse than putting:
preschool reading "Glenn Doman"
into Google.

It is a bit outdated (maybe it has been revised since I read it) and very USA and over the top but pretty good.

Find other people who want to do it there are lots believe me!

Answer 3

OMG! Your child is only 2? You shouldn't be worrying about teaching a 2 year old how to write, a child at this age has not developed the muscle in the thumb to hold a pencil correctly to write.
Reading to a child this young is one of the best things you can do to help in prereading skills, one can never read too much.

Answer 4

First, I would like to say that teaching a two-year old to read and write is a very large task unless that child is gifted, extremely gifted. However, if you want to give you child a head start in the literacy department, buy flash cards. Large ones. Then go over one letter a week. Practice the sound and words that begin with that sound. Have your child trace the letter with their finger.

Please know that a child that young does not,usually, have the manual dexterity to form letters correctly.

Answer 5

I took y our message differently then the other readers....I don't think your actually expecting yout 2 year old to read....just become familer with the concept that letters are symbols for sounds.

I suggest just simple exposure. Let your little one just play with the stamps and you sit by and say the letter name and sound as he/she picks them up. Also, copying lines is a good way to improve fine motor skills and introduce letter writing concepts. Start large, say with side walk chalk...you draw a long line and have your child copy it. Then move to a wavy line, etc. After your child can copy these large lines, trymaking a "highlighter" line on paper and having your child copy it with a fat crayon (skinny ones are to hard to hold).

Also, improve fine motorskills (the skills needed for writing) by playing with playdough, puzzles and other small toys.

This will improve hand strength and coordination and help foster a childs creativity.

Last....the #1 piece of advice....if you want your child to read and write well.....read a lot!

Answer 6

I don't know how good you are at drawing or perhaps you can buy some posters but another useful way of teaching this is to have words with the first letter of each drawn to look like the word. For example: the 'd' in the word 'duck' looks like a duck, the 'a' in the word 'apple' looks like an apple, the 'f' in the word 'fish' looks like a fish etc. It helps with the association of the sound and the letter.
Good luck.

Answer 7

So..
For a simple, step-by-step program that can help your child learn to read visit this site: http://readingprogram.toptips.org

Learning to read at a young age is important for the development of the child. It helps them develop a better understand of their surroundings, allows them to gather information from printed materials, and provides them with a wonderful source of entertainment when they read stories and rhymes. Children develop at different rates, and some children will develop reading skills quicker than other children; however, what's important is that as the parent, you are keenly aware of your child's maturity and reading level to provide them with appropriate books and activities to help them improve.

As parents, you are the most important teacher for your children.

Also Watch this video of a 2 year old child reading http://readingprogram.toptips.org
Regards

Answer 8

not so fast!!!!! the poor kid's only two years old... and rubber stamps i personally used to think as a kid were really boring, no offence. read funny books to your child... read a book or two that he really likes over and over again, until he can turn the pages and pretend he's reading while reciting the book from memory. i used to do that and memorized 5 books by heart by the time i was three... i have loved reading ever since, i read Gone With the Wind in fourth grade. really works. good luck! :-)

Answer 9

1

Answer 10

1. interactive games
2. give him toffee after every teaching lesson
3.ask other children(5-8 yrs old to make him learn through games