The Importance Of Teaching Reading

“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you 'll go” (Dr. Seuss). Reading can transport anyone to a completely diverse world just by opening a book or can be the bearer of awful news. Whatever situation someone is in, reading is always a useful skill to have. However, learning to read seems to be the slightly more difficult part about the wonderful world of literature. Learning to read should start young, but how young? Parents should start reading to their children as early as possible, even if their child is not in school yet. Once children begin school, parents should continually read to their children. Almost all children will learn to read no matter which method used to teach them.

The most important role for parents is to learn about the specific teaching methods used at their children 's school. Parents should also talk with teachers and find out which way she/he will focus on teaching. “Knowing the differences between phonics and whole language- the two main approaches to teaching reading can help parents determine what methods their child 's school is using to teach reading” (“How”). The phonics way of teaching reading mainly focuses on the sounds of letters and words, whereas the whole language method focuses on comprehension. Furthermore, research has shown that a balanced approach of both methods would be helpful to all children. (“How”1). Based on long term studies an effective reading program should include students understanding the concept that words are made up of different sounds. Children who have a reading disability should be taught the relationships of letters, words, and sounds. Parents of children who have a reading disability should focus on helping their children manipulate the sounds of words, in addition teach their children the phonics method opposed to the whole language method (“How”2). Some signs that a student has a reading disability are he/she is slow to learn the connection between letters and sounds, has difficulty sounding out unknown words, and repeatedly misidentifies known words