Weebou Editorial Team
8 min read
In this article
A little preparation
Before you start, decide what you are watching for. A child who can recite a favourite story from memory is doing something clever, but it is not the same as working out an unfamiliar written word. Both matter, and each develops in its own time. Treat the five steps below as a way to describe what you see, not as boxes to tick; many children work on several at once, and some move back and forth.
Notice your child over a few ordinary days instead of testing them. Choose a relaxed moment, such as after a bath or at bedtime, and keep sessions short: five or ten minutes is plenty. If your child is learning in more than one language, or has speech, hearing or vision differences, their route may look different, and that is not a failure. Schools in different countries start formal reading at different ages, so check with your child’s teacher about what is expected locally. A health professional or teacher is the right person to answer worries about a particular child.
What to know and try
Step 1: Enjoying and understanding stories
Long before a child can read words, they can follow a story, predict what happens next and talk about the characters. This listening comprehension is the foundation for reading with understanding. A child who loves books and understands rich stories can still need help reading the printed words, and that gap is entirely normal.
You’ll need
- 2 or 3 picture books your child enjoys
- A comfortable place to sit together
How to do it
- Read a favourite book aloud and pause to ask, ‘What do you think will happen?’
- Look for your child retelling parts of the story in their own words.
- Notice if they ask questions about why a character acted as they did.
- Try a new book with unfamiliar words and explain one of them briefly.
- Ask them to tell you their favourite part and why.
Make it your own: For younger children, choose books with big pictures and few words, and let them turn the pages. Older children can predict, compare two books or act out a scene.
Step 2: Noticing print
Print awareness means understanding that the marks on a page carry meaning, that we read from left to right in English, and that spaces separate words. Children often show this by pointing to a sign, ‘reading’ a shop name or pretending to write. It is a big conceptual step, and it needs no formal teaching.
You’ll need
- A familiar picture book
- A shopping list or a sign on your street
- A pencil and paper
How to do it
- Hold a book so your child can see where the story begins, and trace the first line with your finger.
- Point out a word on a shop sign or cereal box that they might recognise.
- Ask them to show you where to start reading and which way to go.
- Notice if they point to words while ‘reading’ a familiar book.
- Let them write a shopping list with their own marks, then read it back.
Make it your own: For younger children, point to one word per page and say it aloud. Older children might find a word that appears on several pages or count the words in a short line.
Step 3: Hearing the sounds in words
Before children can connect letters to sounds, they need to hear that spoken words are made of smaller sounds. This phonological awareness shows up in rhyming, clapping syllables and noticing that ‘sun’ and ‘sock’ start the same way. It can be developed entirely through listening and play, with no letters involved.
You’ll need
- A few familiar objects, such as a cup, a hat, a cat and a mat
- A bag to hide them in
How to do it
- Say two words and ask, ‘Do cat and hat sound alike at the end?’
- Clap the syllables in your child’s name together.
- Play ‘I spy’ with sounds: ‘I spy something that starts with /s/.’
- Pull an object from the bag and say what sound it begins with.
- Notice if your child can offer a word that rhymes with another, even a made-up one.
Make it your own: For younger children, focus on rhymes in songs and nursery rhymes. Older children can try breaking a short word into its separate sounds, such as c-a-t.
Step 4: Linking letters and sounds
This is where children begin to connect written letters with the sounds they represent. Schools use different teaching methods, so ask which letter-sound approach your child’s class follows and use the same sounds at home. A child at this step may know many letter sounds but find it hard to blend them into words, and that is a typical stage.
You’ll need
- Large paper cards with single letters your child has learned
- A small mirror (optional)
- A tray for the cards
How to do it
- Show one card and say its sound, not its name, if that is what school teaches.
- Ask your child to say the sound and think of something that starts with it.
- Put out three cards and ask them to find the one you name by sound.
- Try blending two sounds, such as ‘a’ and ‘t’, and say ‘at’ together.
- Keep sessions short and stop while your child is still enjoying it.
Make it your own: For younger children, work on just three or four letters, usually the ones in their own name. Older children can start combining letters to make small words.
Step 5: Reading short words and sentences
Eventually children begin to work out unfamiliar printed words for themselves, first slowly and then more smoothly. A child at this stage might read a short, regular word such as ‘map’ by blending the sounds, then recognise it by sight next time. Fluency comes with plenty of practice on books that are neither too easy nor too hard.
You’ll need
- A very short book or a few simple word cards
- A finger or pointer
- A comfortable chair
How to do it
- Choose a short word made of sounds your child knows, such as ‘sit’.
- Ask them to say each sound while you point, and then to blend them together.
- Notice if they guess from the first letter or look at the whole word.
- Read a sentence together, taking turns with each word.
- Praise the effort and the strategy, such as ‘You sounded it out’.
Make it your own: For younger children, read the book to them and let them fill in a single word. Older children might read to a soft toy or a younger sibling to build confidence.
Make it work for your family
The most useful thing you can do is keep reading enjoyable. If a child is tired or frustrated, stop, read the book aloud yourself and come back another day. Avoid comparing your child with a sibling or a friend; reading skills often arrive in bursts, with long flat stretches between them.
If reading seems persistently hard, or you notice a pattern such as great difficulty hearing the sounds in words or remembering letters over many weeks, speak to your child’s teacher or a qualified professional. Early, specific advice is more useful than waiting. For practical ways to help at home, see how to help a child learn to read and these ideas for encouraging reading without making it homework. You can also practise sounds and letters with the Weebou alphabet games.
Parents also ask
What age do most children learn to read?
It varies. Many children begin to read simple words in their first years of school, but some start earlier and others later, and schools in different countries begin formal teaching at different ages. If you are concerned, ask your child’s teacher what they have noticed.
Is it a problem if my child can’t read by the start of school?
Not usually. Starting school without reading is very common, since reading is taught there. What matters is whether your child enjoys stories, shows interest in print and is making progress. If you have specific worries, ask the teacher early.
How can I tell if my child needs extra help with reading?
Look for a pattern over weeks, such as great difficulty hearing sounds in words, remembering letters despite practice or avoiding reading altogether. Share what you see with the teacher, who may suggest support or a professional assessment.
Sources & further reading
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