Learn to Read
the Wholesome Way
Keen-to-Read Books
POINTING AND LEARNING TO READ
Pointing is a useful technique not only to help children learn how we read from left to right and from top to bottom, but it also helps children learn words. But that’s not all. Depending on the technique you use, pointing can also help children gain fluency & speed.
Therefore, you can use pointing techniques to help struggling readers bring life back into their reading.
There are many people who learnt to read at a young age because their mothers or fathers pointed to the words as they read delightful stories out loud to them every day, quite often at bedtime. This represented a lovely, warm time together.
These people, as young children, generally had a favourite book that they insisted their parents read to them every day. They became so familiar with the words, they learnt to read the story.
(By the way, it is also important to read other books as well, not only to further children’s language development and knowledge, which enhance comprehension, but also so they see the same words in different sentences. We suggest you read their favourite book, and then one or two others. These could be, but not necessarily, one or another of Ted’s Tales or Ted’s Readers.)
DIFFERENT POINTING TECHNIQUES TO HELP TEACH READING SKILLS
In this section, we look at different pointing techniques that you can use to help your child progress. During your reading session, a combination of these may work well for you and your child.
1. YOU POINT AND READ.
This method is ideal to illustrate directional habits to children – we read from left to right, top to bottom. It also illustrates to children that the word is a unit – one spoken word refers to one written word on the page. This is often referred to as one-to-one correspondence. Also, children naturally become familiar with the words on the page and begin to recognize words that are the same.
2. YOU POINT AND YOU BOTH READ.
The child chimes in whenever he can. While you are reading out loud, pause, if you think your child may know a word. Your child will most likely chime in then.
3. YOU POINT AND YOUR CHILD READS.
This of course depends on your child’s ability. This is a good step to take when children have become familiar with the text. This allows young children to focus only on the words and not have to multi-task, which can be tiring for young children taking their first steps into reading. You also rule out mistakes that may occur regarding pointing, which can slow down the pace or confuse your child.
4. YOU READ AND YOUR CHILD POINTS.
Therefore, your child is concentrating on the words as you read and is actually reading with his eyes a few seconds behind you. This can be effective, especially for struggling readers, who often read quite slow as they lack confidence. This technique can help get them reading at a good pace and help them enjoy reading again. This technique may take a few sessions to get used to and to get a nice rhythm going.
5. YOUR CHILD POINTS AND YOU READ.
This gets your child looking more closely at the words as you read. You are reading the words to your child at the pace he wants to go; therefore, he feels as if he is in control. He has time to soak in the words. This can be a fun variation for young children if they know correct directional habits and one-to-one correspondence.
6. YOUR CHILD POINTS, BUT YOU GUIDE HIS HAND.
This is good when a child is becoming familiar with the word as a unit, but if left to point by himself, he makes too many mistakes. If you are always correcting his mistakes, he may lose confidence in himself and his love of reading. Therefore, this can be a good stepping stone.
7. YOUR CHILD POINTS AND READS.
This is a good way of checking to see if children are reading the words and are not just repeating sentences they have remembered. It also prevents young children from losing their place in the text. However, as you want your child to look ahead as he reads, ease out his pointing when you feel the time is right for him.
METHODS OF POINTING TO HELP CHILDREN SEE WORDS AS INDIVIDUAL UNITS
1. You or your child can point to the middle of each word.
Do not run your finger along the line of text as you read, as this way of pointing does not separate the words. Lift your finger between each word so your child can clearly see that one written represents one spoken word. Make this connection as clear as you possibly can for your child.
2. Another method, which I found helpful in the classroom for beginner readers, is to use both index fingers – place one at the beginning and another at the end of each word. This can really help children focus on one word at a time, and clearly illustrates the word as a unit. Either you or or child can use this method. This method is best used when the book is supported by a solid surface, such as a table.
3. For young children, if you place a sticker of a smiling face or similar on the finger that you point with, and give that face a name, your child will more than likely want to follow that finger as you read. If your child wants to do the pointing, put one on his finger. This has an added bonus. If your child makes a mistake (which you feel needs correcting – not all mistakes need correcting), you can gently tell the sticker that you and your child will help him read those lines again.
All our books have decent-sized gaps between the words to make pointing a breeze.
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