**If you have young children the art of teaching reading is a skill you should acquire**

The art of teaching reading has changed dramatically over the years but it always seems to return to phonics as the best way to teach reading. New methods come and try to knock phonics off the top slot. They are

tried out by schools and parents. And most people with a vested interest in the new method swear by them, but they still fade away.

The art of teaching reading is slightly difficult to pin point as the best students will learn to read no matter what method is used.

To define the art of teaching reading you have to pick the students who are problem readers. Then find out what method they respond to that helps them learn to read. In most cases problem readers almost always become competent readers after they have been instructed in phonics.

Phonics is the code to sound out a word.

If the child knows what letters make what phonic sound then they should be able to read. Being able to read doesn’t always mean that the child understands what they are reading. So the art of teaching reading fluency is a two-fold process. First get the child to use phonics so they can read the words as we would speak them. Then answer any questions about what the words mean because your child usually doesn’t know what they are reading. A slight problem that can surface is the child’s reads the words so slowly so the word doesn’t sound like the spoken word. This time you have to get the child to say the word faster until the written word sounds like the spoken word.

For more information about phonics courses I recommend including a Montessori course see our Teach Reading page.