How To Teach Preschool Kids (3 To 5-Year-Olds) To Read: The Ultimate Guide For Parents

Reading is at the heart of formal education. So, it is one of the first things a preschooler learns to do in school. Learning to read early in life has numerous benefits, ranging from faster development of brain development to increased creativity, imagination, and self-confidence.

Although most preschoolers display a natural urge to read, the complexities of learning to read, coupled with the lack of proper guidance, dampen their desire. If your child is eager to begin reading, follow our tips on how to teach your kid to read in a fun and easy way.

Familiarize with the letters of the alphabet

• The ability to read comes with the ability to recognize the letters of the alphabet. So, begin by teaching your kid how to read the letters of the English alphabet. Here are a few simple and fun ways of doing it:
• Reading out loud: It is always best to begin. Reading to your child would arouse their desire to read as well. So, read out loud to them from an early age. Read simple bedtime stories or rhymes. This will prepare your child to learn how to read and write. It will help in developing their speech and teach them how to memorize by listening.
• Playing letter games: There is a better way of teaching your child to learn and read the letters of the alphabet than from a book. You can use alphabet-shaped toys, letter boards, and jigsaw puzzles. These items are easily available in most bookstores. You can also play simple letter games such as 'alphabetizing the flowers,' 'guess the letter,' and so on to help your child learn and read the alphabet.
• Creating alphabet art: Kids love playing with paint, playdough, and other materials. So, you can channelize your child's love for art to teach them the letters of the alphabet. Get together and make the letters with playdough or paint them on chart paper or use shaving cream to create them, or make them with sand of various colors. The possibilities are endless.
• Play letter hunt: Another fun activity to familiarise your child with letters is through a letter hunt. Write letters on flashcards and hide them in various places around the house. Now, give your child a clue and challenge them to find it.
• Eat the alphabet: Eating the letters of the alphabet can be a yummy delight. Serve food to your child arranged like the various letters, or cook items like dosa or chapatti in the shape of letters. You can be sure your child will keep asking for more.

After teaching the letters of the alphabet, you need to help your child develop an understanding of phonetics (various letter combinations and their corresponding sounds). Teaching your child phonetics will help them understand how to sound out words. Although initially, your child may find learning phonetics a little confusing, a good understanding of phonetics will help them read better later on.

A scientific study about phonemic awareness (PA) found that "PA instruction helped various types of children: normally developing readers as well as at-risk and disabled readers: preschoolers, kindergartners, and first graders..." The study further observed that "PA instruction improved preschoolers' rudimentary word recognition skills. Not only immediate but also long-term."

Here is how to teach phonics to preschoolers:

• Teach letter sounds: This should be the first step in your effort to teach phonics to your child. Show your child a letter of the English alphabet and then say how it sounds. Ask them to repeat after you.
• Blend sounds: This is the next step. Read and make your child understand how to blend the consonant and vowel sounds together. For example, pan, top, bun, and so on.

Practise diagraphs: Learning the concept of how to combine and pronounce two successive letters is essential to read and write well. This should be the next thing you should teach your child. For example, how to pronounce consonant-consonant sounds like sh, ch, tch (shoo, choo, catch), and vowel-vowel sounds like oo and ai (moon, rain).

Explain sight words for preschoolers

Once your child understands phonetics, you can encourage them to read 'sight' words. These are the most common words that appear on almost every page of a book, such as I, my, you, we, am, it, is, at, can, not, go, do, to, a, and the. You cannot represent these words in the form of pictures; however, they can be understood. There are 220 sight words in English, and your child will need to memorize them. But learning sight words is not easy and needs effort on your child's part.

Here is how to teach sight words to preschoolers:

• Use flashcards: Write one sight word on each card. Go through these words with your preschooler. Once both of you have finished reading the cards, quiz your child to see what they remember.
• Write a sentence: Give your child a notebook and a pencil and challenge them to write short sentences using sight words they have learned.
• Write a story: Repetition is the key to memorizing sight words. So, once your child begins to write short sentences well, encourage them to write a short story of their own using sight words.

Make books accessible

How can your child develop the habit of reading if they do not have anything to read from? So, ensure that storybooks or other interesting reading materials are always around for them to pick up and start reading. You can also keep books along with their toys in the play area so that they start associating reading with a fun activity. Choose simple books that teach letters and numbers to engage them in reading in a way that fascinates them.

Following the above-mentioned tips diligently will help your child learn how to read and become an independent reader quite soon. But, you should remember that reading is not an activity you should push your child into doing against their wishes. As a parent, your role is to create the right environment for them to begin reading, provide them with the appropriate tools, and help and support them in their efforts to learn to read. It is also important for you to remember that every child learns at their own pace.

So, refrain from comparing your preschooler with other children of their age. However, if you think your child's learning pace is slower than that of other children, consult a pediatrician or specialist at the earliest.

 Last updated on: Aug 1, 2025