The place to start teaching reading is by assessing her prereading skills. This is easy. Hand your child a picture book upside down with the back cover facing up. Watch what happens.
Does the child turn the book over so the cover is right side up?
Does the child open the book with the bulk of the pages near her right hand?
When the child turns the pages, does she turn them from front to back?
Ask the child to point which way the words are read. Does she point top to bottom? Left to right?
Ask the child where the cover and back page are. Where is the title?
If your child can answer these questions correctly, she knows basic pre-reading skills for the English language. If she cannot answer these questions correctly, teach her.
How? Read often to your child and point out these basics. You could also play games by holding the book upside down, or by beginning to read from the last page, or by looking at the back cover and saying, “Is this where we begin?” If your child corrects you, she has absorbed these pre-reading skills.
If you read to your child in two languages such as Chinese and English, or Arabic and English, make sure your child understands these skills as they apply to English. Some languages do not follow the English language pattern. You might want to stop lessons in the other language for a few months until the English pattern is established.
comicphonics for early readers 