How to develop cognitive skills for reading

There are few joys in parenting greater than your child becoming an independent reader.

Most parents are surprised that the cognitive skills required for reading begin to develop in infancy.

Parents are also surprised when they learn that reading skills continue to develop well into adolescence.

The cognitive skills required for being a skilled reader take over a decade to master. The moment when your child begins to read independently is a sweet victory. But you have been building up to that moment for 6 or 7 years, and you will continue to build upon that moment for another decade.

Parents are important for developing the cognitive skills for reading. There are small changes that we can all make to help our children become strong readers. But first, it’s helpful to understand how reading develops across childhood.

Generally speaking, reading follows 5 stages, spanning birth to 12^th grade.

Stage 1: Awareness (Birth until 1^st grade). Children develop the prerequisites for reading. These skills include knowing the alphabet and phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the knowledge that sounds are linked to the letters in a word. For instance, children learn the sounds associated with “t” and “sh.”

Stage 2: Recoding (1^st-2^nd grade).Children acquire the ability to translate letters into sounds and to sound out words. This is called phonological recoding. Children take their knowledge about the sounds that letters make and use them to put words together.

Stage 3: Fluency (3^rd-4^th grade).Children develop the ability to seamlessly read simple material without working hard to sound out words.

Stage 4: Comprehension (4^th – 8^th grades). Children have now mastered reading. They are learning how to read and comprehend the topic. In other words, children develop the ability to understand what the words on the page mean.

Stage 5: Integration (8^th – 12^th grades). Adolescents acquire the ability to integrate multiple perspectives. This allows them to appreciate subtitles in complex novels, plays, history, and other written texts.

It’s worth noting that the ages listed in these stages are general guidelines. Over the past 30 years, expectations for when children move has been shifted earlier, meaning that some children are already reading upon entry to Kindergarten. That said, there is still huge individual variability in when children reach these stages.

The real question is – what can parents do to set up their child to succeed in each of these stages? There are a few key takeaways from the developmental science.

Phonemic awareness is the single best predictor of reading success. Teaching the sounds that letters and letter combinations work is associated with lifelong better reading and spelling skills. The easiest method to teach phonemic awareness is through nursery rhymes and books with rhyming. Take for instance, the childhood classic, The Cat In the Hat. The repetition of “cat,” “hat,” and “pat” help a child learn that the first letter sound alters the sound the word makes. Reading frequently, drawing connections between letter shapes and corresponding sounds, and reading aloud to children frequently are all important for developing phonemic awareness.

Draw connections to material in books. When you read to a child, pause often and relate to the characters in the book or the situation. Explain the character’s goals or actions. Draw connections between the book and real life. When build connections between written text and real life, you develop children’s reading skills and comprehension. This is an important step in early childhood when children are learning to love reading, but is arguably even more important in the school-aged years when children are expected to begin to analyze written text for themes.

Options increase reading. The more books that are available for a child, the more likely parents are to read to a child and the more likely a child will take an interest in books. Mix up a stack of children’s books and adult books to showcase how reading never stops. (Check out my recommendation for how to reorganize your bookshelf to promote reading.) Frequently visit the library.

Choose a wide variety of books to take advantage of and expand interests. I recommend a 50/50 rule. 50% of books should cater to your child’s interests – be it books on trucks, history, or sci-fi. The other 50% should be reach books: books on a topic that your child may or may not like. Reach books help ensure that your child will expand their reading skills across genres and topics. This is especially important during the teen years when children are less likely to read for pleasure. When teens have access to readily available, interesting sources like books and magazines, this decline is less noticeable.

Physical books promote more engagement than digital books. Reading books on a device is better than nothing, but parents and children report more engagement, learning, and warmth from reading a physical book together. Part of the reason why young children like reading is it provides a social, cuddly moment with a parent. Parents also like these snuggles. As children grow older, shared reading continues to provide the same source of social interaction.

A love of reading is a gift you can give your child. And we can help consciously grow this love by developing the cognitive skills to help our children become strong readers. In just a few minutes a day of engaging your child with books and reading, you will be setting up your child for success in reading and academics.