page+1+-+reading

THE BASICS OF READING 

Reading is now introduced at ‘pre school aged children to get started on basic reading skills early enough that they won’t still be reading at the third grade level when they enter high school. It also assures primary students that their reading instruction won’t be neglected as soon as they learn the alphabet (Bell, 1974). From children learning how to read in their early schooling eliminates later problems of illiteracy. The reading process not only requires you to read each word or letter separately but once the child becomes familiar with the language style, they don’t necessarily need to read each word. After being familiarised with the language style the child will tend to predict the words which will come next (Hill, 2006, p.140). It is said that reading comes from the child’s past experiences and knowledge of the world (Hill, 2006, p.140). However, all children need some help to develop and use linguistic, perceptual and cognitive processes (Cairney, 1990, p.4). Children who have great difficulty with reading need close assistance. Teachers need to be aware of both the specific processes and various strategies, this knowledge provides a focus for teaching and allows teachers to help children within the context of ‘real’ reading (Cairney, 1990, p.4).