Free Custom «Nursery School Children» Essay Paper

Reading Difficulties in Nursery School Children Aged between 3 and 6 years

Reading difficulties among children aged below eight years should be prevented early enough to foster a healthy reading culture when they grow older and progress into higher grades (Brassard & Boehm, 2008).  Considering the fact that a child’s reading ability is directly affected by many factors, there is need for top – level consensus when researchers and stakeholders put into place the necessary prevention programs for the children in their pre – school ages. Then, the recommendations put in place should be approved unilaterally.

Preschool – aged children aged between three and six years start converting letter sequences into specific sounds rapidly represented in conversation. Sometimes, it could be too soon for them to deeply understand the inherent message held in the text at first. At this time it normally has not occurred to them that they are reading in order to learn (Resnick & Snow, 2009). To them, it is a fun exercise at first, probably due to the singing involved in their early lessons.

A big challenge is when it is now necessary to bridge the gap between the children discovering the alphabetic principle by themselves and being precisely taught by a tutor (Hladczuk, 1992).  A child who has learned and understood the alphabetic principle could still be a poor reader if he / she is not exposed to adequate practice sessions and application of basic vocabulary. The larger the vocabulary, the better a reader the child becomes.

Therefore, it is important for a child to be afforded as many opportunities as possible. These are:

Motivation to read

When pre – school children are constantly read to, they tend to quickly transform their reading knowledge into writing and this creates a desirable learning environment when they finally enroll in school (School Specialty Publishing, 2008).

An understanding of the purposes of print

A child does not automatically fathom what reading is really meant for. Constant engagement of the child in further reading and writing exercises exposes him to various forms of literary works and with time he grasps different reading functions and purposes.

Language development

Here, oral language practice plays a key role in the child’s language development. Letters and sounds are internalized and the child’s mastery is enhanced (Davis, 2006).

Prevention and/or intervention programs

 A child whose parents or guardians have had poor literacy background is at risk of developing reading difficulties due to inadequacy of reading guidance. Therefore, it is important for the child to be subjected to better language and literacy atmosphere constantly, and preferably even after normal school hours (Resnick & Snow, 2009).

To furnish all the above, preschoolers have to be fully equipped with literacy readiness modules that will have them in good shape to begin their quest for a bright reading and writing future when they enroll.