Steps to Developing Language Fluency in Young Children

We all know that letters of the alphabet form words and that learning letters and sounds is usually the predecessor to developing fluency in young children. But how can we stimulate an early interest in the alphabet? To keep a child’s mind engaged in the learning process, it is a good idea to use fun, exciting hands-on games. Many parents have had success arranging magnetic letters on their kitchen refrigerator and allowing children to touch, manipulate and sound out the letters. Another variation is to work with one letter a week starting, for instance, with the letter A. Place only the letter A on the refrigerator and then do a weeklong lesson that focuses on the letter A. At the end of the week place three more letters on the refrigerator. Ask your child to distinguish the letter A from the group, make the sound of the letter A, and pronounce two or three words that begin with the letter A. Continue this learning technique for 25 more weeks until your child begins to recognize and sound out each of the 26 letters of the alphabet easily. A home-schooling mom who has had remarkable success with developing fluency in her kids has created a useful online resource that teaches children a letter a week. This free curriculum can be found at Brightly Beaming Resources - http://www.letteroftheweek.com/.

• Does Your Child have the Ability to Link Letters and Sounds Together?
• Is Your Child Familiar with Words that Form Opposites?
• Can Your Child Build New Words from a Single Core Word?
• Can Your Child Sound Out Rhyming Words?
• Has Your Child Learned about Compound Words?
• Can Your Child Build Words using Ending Clusters?
• Is Your Child Familiar with Beginning Blends?
• Have You Encouraged Independent Reading?
• Do You Read Books Yourself?