Get Ready to Read

Kids don’t just pick up a book and begin to read. Several skills go into making it happen—five, to be exact. They include the following:

1. Phonemic awareness: the recognition that letters make sounds, and sounds make words
2. Phonics: the ability to “sound out” words by linking together the sounds that each letter makes
3. Fluency: the ability to use words fluently.
4. An ever-increasing vocabulary
5. Reading comprehension: the ability to interpret what’s being read

To help children develop these critical reading skills, Sylvan recently launched its first tutoring program for children as young as 4 ½. “It’s for those children who are ready for school and show motivation on how to read,” says Richard Bavaria, PhD, vice president of education for Sylvan.

As with all Sylvan tutoring programs, the beginning reading program starts with an individualized assessment. It determines not only if children have the skills needed to begin, but also if they’re mature enough to enter the class. For instance, children who are not ready to sit down and concentrate for periods at a time, or socialize with other children, probably aren’t ready. But that’s not to say they won’t be soon.

“Two or three months in the life of a child is a very long time,” Bavaria says. “They grow in spurts physically and intellectually.”

The advantages of waiting until a child is truly ready to learn outweigh the delays in getting started on a formal learning program, explains Bavaria. “We don’t want to force a young child to read when he or she is not ready. We’d rather wait until the child shows interest and motivation,” he says.

Equally important to following a child’s readiness cues is designing a program that fits that child’s needs, as expressed by his or her parents. “Some parents want a whole lot, others a little. Our program accommodates whatever those needs are,” Bavaria explains.

Although learning is serious business, it can be fun too. “We use games and songs. We have the children read to each other. There’s got to be a certain element of fun to it,” Bavaria says.

For more information on Sylvan’s newest program, Beginning Reading, call us at 1-800-EDUCATE (1-800-338-2283) or log onto educate.com.

Sidebar: Why Early Reading Readiness Counts *

The following research-based statements demonstrate why reading readiness in the early years is critical to life-long learning.

• A recent, large-scale survey of kindergarten teachers reported that 35 percent of children enter kindergarten unprepared to learn.
• Children who lack reading readiness are more likely to develop reading problems when they begin formal schooling.
• Early attention can correct reading deficiencies in 95% to 97% of all children.
• Students who fail to develop efficient reading skills have difficulty in every other academic subject.
• The majority of adolescent and adult reading problems could be prevented in early childhood.

* Sources: National Research Council, U.S. Department of Education, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.