April 5, 2000
We've heard over and over that if kids can't read by the third grade, they risk falling further and further behind.
But there is something parents CAN DO to prepare their kids to be life long readers.
News Specialist Ruth Todd brings us the story in today's Family Now Report.
Utah is one of a few states where reading scores are dropping.
And the problem may start early.
A recent study found that as many as one-fourth of Utah kids are completing kindergarten without the skills they need to read.
But there are a few simple things parents can do to give their kids a head start.
Reading experts like Kresta Allen-Rose - a reading specialist in the Granite School District - say a child needs three skills to be a successful reader.
First and foremost, they need to know their A-B-Cs.
Along with that, they need to have phonological awareness - which means they know the sound that goes with each letter.
Kresta Allen-Rose/Reading Specialist: "IF CHILDREN CANNOT HEAR THE SOUNDS IN LANGUAGE. IF THEY CAN'T HEAR SYLLABLES, IF THEY CAN'T HEAR INDIVIDUALS SOUNDS, IF THEY CAN'T BREAK CAT INTO C-A-T-, THEN THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE A VERY HARD TIME READING."
The third key to reading is called concept of print.
Kresta Allen-Rose/Reading Specialist: "THEY NEED TO REALIZE THAT WHEN THEY LOOK AT A BOOK, THAT THESE SQUIGGLES ARE THE WORDS AND THAT ONE GROUP OF LETTERS REPRESENTS ONE WORD AND ANOTHER GROUP REPRESENTS ANOTHER WORD."
These concepts may sound unattainable, but Allen-Rose says parents can easily cultivate the skills at home.
Kresta Allen-Rose: "SIMPLE THINGS SUCH AS TAKING TIME TO SIT DOWN AND CHAT WITH YOUR CHILDREN, DEVELOP THEIR ORAL LANGUAGE SKILLS, PLAY RHYMING GAMES."
And of course, experts say reading to your children maybe the easiest - and the most important - thing you can do to give them a head start.
