Already around 4-5 years children can begin to show interest in reading and writing. Adults should support them by preparing an adequate educational environment, but without exceeding or making pressures that go beyond the natural curiosity shown by the little ones
Around the 6 years of agein the child there is a series of complex acquisitions that will bring him to Learn to read and write And, subsequently, to automate these two actions.
Italian is a “transparent” language, that is, each letter has a sound that corresponds to them and this positively affects how you learn to read. Many studies have deepened what happens in the brain of the expert reader that displays a word: a series of activations of brain areas that serve to specific functions such as attention, the eye movement, the inhibition of external stimuli, the recognition of the meaning of the different strings of text etc.
In the face of so much complexity, How to teach children effectively? The children, in the first attempts, access the reading by associating a sound (phoneme) with each letter (grapheme), and come to the meaning of the word only after having pronounced it. It is not uncommon to observe, in fact, in small readers, first the decomposition in individual letters (for example Casa becomes home), subsequently the pronunciation of the whole word and, finally, with a flicker of surprise, the acquisition of the meaning: «Ah! House!”.
How to teach children according to the Montessori method
For Maria Montessorilearning takes place in certain “sensitive periods”, during which the child is able to direct his attention with greater intensity. In particular, Montessori observed that the interest in reading and writing already develops around 4-5 years of age. Just as for the whole evolutionary phase of the child, the adult should support this interest by preparing a adequate educational environmentbut it is equally important that it does not exceed or puts pressure that go beyond the natural curiosity shown by the baby.
For reading, in fact, the brain must be able to decipher a complex amount of information, through the transmission of signals deriving from the different brain areas involved; This activity is closely related to the maturation of the nerve fibers which takes place no earlier than 5 years of age.
The Montessori method He enabled experience as a source of knowledge and hand as the first learning tool through the use of the senses. Neuroscience agree in affirming that we learn more easily when we associate positive emotions with learning experiences, that’s why teach reading playing Also through books and books illustrated, even before knowing how to read, surrounded by the affection of adults, it allows children to internalize a small “semantic treasure” from which they will be able to draw in the following years.
Teach reading aloud By creating stories, using accurate language and inserting, where possible, rhymes and assonances allows children to experience the first acquisitions to compose and break down words. Other practical activitieson the other hand, have urged other skills from the very first childhood that can prove to be useful for reading: i travasisfor example, train the Oculo-manual coordination And they get used to the eye to follow the hand according to a direction proposed by the adult, just as it will happen when it will be necessary to start following the line of a written text from left to right.
It is also possible teach reading with the Montessori method following the natural curiosity of the child for reading, which can also be stimulated through materials borrowed from the method, such as, for example, nomenclature: cards depicting words and images of objects and activities to be appointed and associated with each other, useful for enriching the child’s lexicon and cultural background. To make the game more captivating, the adult can choose the images of images To be proposed on the basis of the passions of the child: insects, animals, flowers, means of transport and so on, increasing the level of complexity of the proposal in parallel with the advance of age.
Subsequently, following the requests of the baby, the Letters of the alphabet in grid paperthat is, letters built on a wooden or cardboard support and sandpaper, which the child will be able to travel with his fingers before writing with the pen. It is an exercise that requires great concentration, the repetition of the gestures will favor, over time, the learning of the movements of the hand necessary to represent each letter by associating it with the corresponding sound.
When to teach children to read?
Is it possible to teach to read before the primary school? Children cultivate the skills necessary for the evolution of the reading process already From 3-4 years of agewhen they are dedicated to the game and are surrounded by stimuli that can activate reading: billboards, signs, road signs … it is precisely through the game that the child trains i prerequisites useful for learning reading and writing.
In the eighties, Utah Frith, an expert development psychologist, proposed a model of acquisition of reading characterized by four distinct and sequential phases, which allows adults to understand how to teach children according to agestune in with their needs:
- In the period of the kindergarten The child perceives letters as designs and recognizes them as family images, for example he takes his name or names of known objects.
- With entry to primary school He begins to recognize the letters, their sound and moves the first attempts in manipulating words.
- Between the second and the third year Primary school specializes in the recognition of syllables, recognizes the structure of the word and learns the exceptions and grammatical irregularities.
- Finally, it is able to recognize words in a global and immediate way, without the need to break them down.
To teach to read children it is necessary to be aware that the transition from one acquisition to another does not respond to linear logics: for some it might want more time; In other cases, arrest trips can occur. The fluidity of the route depends on the cognitive development of each single child and from exposure to an adequate teaching method.
How to help a child who can’t read
Matilde’s mother was very worried about the difficulties of reading her daughter, about to start the second class of primary school. A Reading strengthening path And writing served to accompany the girl until the end of the first quarter of the second class, when she started reading alone without stopping more. Matilde’s story helps us to underline the fact that each child is in himself and is different in the times and ways of learning. Not for everyone is necessary a specific strength of enhancement, sometimes the difficulty of reading is resolved simply by letting new learning sedates.
For other children, however, it is desirable to undertake a path of clinical deepening to evaluate the possible presence of specific difficulties (path to be undertaken, in any case, not before the end of the second year of primary school).
But what is advisable to do when a child presents reading difficulties? One of the most important objectives to be pursued in case of school failure is the maintenance of a Good dose of self -esteem. Reference adults, parents and teachers, should take care of this delicate aspect, returning to the child trust in his skills and security to try again. For this reason it is appropriate not to press the small grass reader with requests of long and exhausting readingsbut rather help him explaining to him: «You have to read to the colored dot of green. I listen to you, take the time you need ».
Even daily life, as Montessori teaches, gives us many opportunities to support the child who has difficulty reading. Can be done:
- rhymes games («Now I tell you two words and you have to tell me if they have a similar sound: sauce-packet, branch-Sasso …”), riddles and songs with known words;
- games to recognize sounds At the beginning and end of the word: such as the domino of the words “caknow – knowThe “The game of twins” find all the foods that start for-Pa- “;
- games for identify the phonemes (“An extraterrestrial has launched us a message from space: what did lemon. What did he say?”);
- games for differentiate the words Long from the short ones (“How many jumps must the frog be to say” home “?”).
All these activities can be carried out everywhere: at the supermarket or in the queue in traffic, in the waiting room of the dentist or while walking in the park; provided, however, that they are carried out with reciprocity and complicitywithout judgments.
Finally, a separate narration deserves reading aloud shared. Read with your child It is a relational activity that offers multiple benefits, in particular:
- It enriches the semantic map from an early age;
- mutual attachment consolidates, in addition to the time and care to be dedicated to each other;
- strengthens dialogue;
- Activate a plural look at reality;
- It offers the possibility to seek together possible solutions to increasingly complex problems;
- offers the possibility of setting up and maintaining a routine;
- It nourishes and consolidates mutual trust.
It is for these reasons that the Reading aloudespecially if proposed by the parents, cannot respond to educational logic (“Read you to practice, I listen to you!”), But it should rather be kept in an intimate and family space.
