Reading 101: A Guide for Parents

Welcome, parents! 

One of the most important gifts we can give our children is to help them learn to read and write so that they can succeed in school and beyond. Confident, active readers are able to use their reading skills to follow their passions and curiosity about the world. We all read for a purpose: to be entertained, to take a journey of the imagination, to connect with others, to figure out how to do something, and to learn about history, science, the arts, and everything else. 

Learning to read is complex. Children don’t learn one reading-related skill and then move on to the next in a step-by-step process. Instead, they are learning to do many things at the same time: decodingThe ability to translate a word from print to speech by using your knowledge of sound–symbol (letter) correspondences. , reading with comfortable fluencyFluency is the ability to read a text accurately, at a good pace, and with proper expression and comprehension. , absorbing new vocabularyKnowledge of the meaning and pronunciation of words. , understanding what the text says, and discovering that reading is pleasurable and builds knowledge about the world.

We hope this guide will give you a better understanding of what it takes to learn to read (and write) and how you can help your children grow as readers, writers, and learners!