A child’s ability to read dictates, in large measure, his / her success in school and throughout life. As eliquently stated by Ontario Canada’s Ministry of Education, “The focus on instruction in the early years is on learning to read, but over time the focus shifts to reading to learn. … There is a critical window of opportunity from the ages of four to seven for children to learn to read.”
Most schools begin reading curriculum in kindergarten and test students’ ability to read common sight words beginning in kindergarten and continuing through 3rd grade. When a child has reading difficulties into the third grade, the child is more likely to be labeled as having a learning disability. It is critical for young children to receive all the support necessary to be literate by the third grade.
Parents can help their children learn to read. If parents instill the correct skills, they significantly enhance a child’s reading ability and minimize the risk of a child being labeled as having a learning disability. A recent study determined that parental involvement with children in kindergarten to third grade had a favorable impact on a child’s literacy enhancement.
The study focused on three distinct types of parental involvement: 1) reading to the child, 2) listening to the child read and 3) teaching the child literacy skills. The study found that teaching literacy skills was significantly more effective in enhancing a child’s literacy than the other two methods.
Parents participating in the study worked with their children to enhance various literacy skills. Daily parental activities were performed to reinforce the reading skills taught at school. Among those activities was repeated exposure to sight words.
Er-u-di-tion, the sight words game, was created to expose children to high frequency words in a fun and entertaining atmosphere. The words are categorized by level of difficulty so children from pre-school through third grade can play the game together. When older children, teenagers, and adults play Er-u-di-tion, they are encouraged to define the sight word and use it in a sentence to enhance vocabulary and text comprehension skills.