Every child is sent to school for the idea that each one needs to learn – to read and write and more.

Since as teachers, we have been taught in the baccalaureate course that the human mind is a “tabula rasa” ( bank tablet) according to John Locke, it is then our responsibility to make sure that such blank tablets that come to us every year will be filled with new information and learning as they move from one grade level to another.

We always have to make sure that they will learn and become “learned” in all ways possible. Otherwise, we will get all the blame if they do not succeed at school.

While it is true that we have to develop the total personality and all the intelligences of every child, a basic skill that a child needs to develop is his/her skill in reading. With good reading, he/she will be able to study and learn many other concepts and skills in the different learning areas with ease and precision.

Reading, though, is not so easy to develop and improve. Teachers need to be creative, patient and persevering enough to guarantee that a learner’s reading ability will achieve its utmost level of proficiency.

Here are some steps on how to help develop the Reading Skills of our learners:

1.            Make reading an enjoyable thing not a burden

             We have establish the level of our readers first before we give reading interventions, otherwise, if we give them too much, they might feel it is such a burden that they will only end up frustrating themselves and the teacher.

             For syllabic readers, begin with the basics – piece by piece.

             For slow readers – provide them with easy and short words, sentences and stories – just to make them feel that they get some sort of success with simple and easy reading materials they excel with. This will boost the morale of the reader and give them the thirst to read more.

             For fast readers, we can let them read individually and on their own. Provide them with interesting stories, travelogues, anecdotes and the like. Make them travel. Introduce them to new personalities, places and processes through reading. This will kindle the interest in reading and they will read more even without being told.

2.            Use videos and music in reading. There are story books online, stories made into movies or films. Make them read the story first and watch the movie afterwards. This will intensify the meaning of the story read and even strengthen the value learned from the story.

3.            Provide rewards and recognition for reading well, so much more, for reading better. Appreciate every effort and applaud every success in improving reading and comprehension. Rewards can be a comic book, a mini-pocket book, a mini-dictionary or thesaurus. This are aids to better and improved reading.

There can be other ways to develop the reading skills of every learner. These are just some of them. Whatever means or ways we use, for as long as we have the best intentions, for sure we will suc

By: Michelle Marie M. Diaz|Teacher I| Cataning Elementary School | Balanga City, Bataan