Teaching Kids To Read

Learning to read and write is the most important skill a child needs to acquire-everything else they do in life depends on it, including their school and tertiary studies and their future employment. In 2011, Australia will have a National Curriculum for the first time and the first and most vital component will be teaching literacy using phonics-an easy-to-follow visual system that went out of fashion in the 1980s but is now back with a bang. Phonics will be the preferred method of teaching reading in the new National Curriculum. Fay Tran's TEACHING KIDS TO READ is the first book to explain how ordinary Australian parents with no teaching background themselves can use this method to teach their kids how to read. It will also bring phonics to the generation of teachers who missed out on phonics during the 'reading wars' of the 1980s and 1990s. Friendly, clear instructions are accompanied by case studies that illustrate the amazing transformations to kids' confidence and learning that are possible using this method. While phonics is especially powerful for children with learning difficulties, Fay Tran's book applies equally well to children of all capabilities. Passionately argued, TEACHING KIDS TO READ is not only an essential handbook for every Australian parent and teacher, but also a compelling manifesto for a literate Australia.