With our daughter a year away from first grade, my husband and I are starting to think carefully about her written language skills.
We know she’ll be learning pinyin and Hanzi at the same time. Some of the parents of her friends already send their children to training institutes to learn how to read and write systematically.
As parents and educators, it’s only natural that my husband and I wonder about our role as parents: How can we help teach literacy and when should we start?
We’ve come to the conclusion that it’s never too early to start teaching literacy as long as it’s done in a fun way and without pressure.
According to Dr. Timothy Shanahan, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a premier literacy educator, parents should start talking to children as soon as they are born.
Initially, describing aloud whatever the newborn does is a great way to help a young child associate her or his actions with the words we use to describe those actions.
By the age of one, parents should read to their children regularly, making it a fun activity for the whole family with no phones or any other screens.
As children become older, it can be a lot of fun to read a book as a family and then watch a movie or television version of the book.
Movies should be treated as a special event in which the family engages in the movie together, then discusses the content. And sure, a bit of popcorn can be fun for everyone!
When reading a book together, there are several techniques that can improve the effectiveness of teaching literacy.
For example, it’s great to point to each word on the page that you are reading. This will help connect the oral and written forms of the word together.
And reading a story aloud is just as much about your tones, pitch and timing as it as about the words on the page.
Be a brave reader and use your expressions and even your body language to help the story come alive!
When it comes to reading Chinese, children start to recognize characters through repetition. The more often they see a word in a storybook, the more likely they are to internalize the character.
The good news for kids is that they are hardwired to enjoy repetition. Of course, parents can become bored by what children find fascinating so it’s important to be as patient as possible.
Reading shouldn’t be a one-way street. Make reading an interactive activity by asking questions while reading to your child.
For example, read the title of a book and briefly look through the pictures. Then, ask your child what she or he thinks might be the subject of the book.
After reading the book, ask your child if she can summarize the story. You can share similar stories from your own life. The goal is to test and develop story comprehension, which is the key to reading skills.
After all, we read to understand new concepts and ideas. In the long run, the goal is to teach our children to think critically and independently. Reading is a key part of this goal!
When it comes to writing Chinese, children typically learn from tracing line by line. Work with your child so they understand the order of writing from left to right and from to bottom.
A great way to teach writing is to tie writing to other skills like drawing and coloring.
Have pencils, markers and paper available for your child to practice his fine motor skills which is the foundation for writing.
One activity we enjoy doing in our own home is to slowly and clearly describe what we think are contents of their drawings. They tell us if we are right and we write down simple notes to the child on the drawing.
They are very excited to draw or write back in response to our notes. It’s a great way to explain that writing and reading are all about having a conversation, just in a different form!
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We welcome you to visit us in person to find out more. Simply reply to our WeChat and send us your name and your child’s name along with your phone number.
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