Literacy in children. How to encourage it

Reading is an activity that consists of interpreting and deciphering, through sight, the phonic value of a series of written signs, either mentally or aloud. Writing is the system of representation of words or ideas by means of letters or other set of conventional graphic signs and forces us to refl

Reading is an activity that consists of interpreting and deciphering, through sight, the phonic value of a series of written signs, either mentally or aloud.

Writing is the system of representation of words or ideas by means of letters or other set of conventional graphic signs and forces us to reflect before transmitting information. When we join writing with reading, we have literacy.

Reading and writing as complementary activities for children

Reading and writing are complementary activities that open doors to the world, and on which our later learning will depend. When we read our mind, we store information about how words are written correctly, that is why we learn effortless spelling and insists so much on the importance of acquiring the habit of reading as children.

Literacy is the union of writing and reading, and the ability to do it correctly brings us closer to understanding a text. Reading and writing well, as we have said before, is to know how to decipher and interpret, it allows us to build meanings to expand our knowledge and organize ideas.

For children to start reading and writing, we have to try to capture their interest, using words that are attractive to them and that are part of their environment. Painting, drawing and coloring helps to learn to write.

How to encourage literacy in children

Children learn by imitation, so it is essential to promote an environment conducive to reading, in which stories, poetry, posters, etc. are read and handled. We must give reading and writing a practical and functional character in which children feel this usefulness.

1. Better start with capital letters. When the children begin to write their name, that of their best friend, their pets or their favorite toys, they begin to become aware of how the individual and joined letters sound, and later they will begin to recognize the words and sentences. It is advisable to start learning with capital letters. Not all children learn at the same pace and generate situations that promote interest in the world of letters will always be very positive.

2. Use of signs. For our children to become familiar with the letters soon and reinforce their learning, we can resort to the signs. Place one on the door of your room where your name and picture is written, write the name of your pet, for example, 'Pancho' and place it under the image of your dog, make a sign with the word 'stories' In your reading corner, place on the wall a poster of your favorite cartoon character with your name written etc. they are very simple tricks that can help us in this task. Over time they will associate the word with the image it contains and they will learn without realizing it.

3. Word games. There are in the market games of letters of non-toxic materials, of different colors and sizes, with which we can play to put syllables, form words and spend an entertaining time with our children. We can also cut letters from magazines and newspapers and form new words with them. We will expand the activities as they learn.

A poem to facilitate the literacy of children

Knowing the curiosity that children feel for fairy tales we can do memor memorize a children's poetry on this subject, and write it in a visible place so they can see it whenever they want it. Even if they seem small for these activities, children in early childhood are perfectly capable of carrying them out. I leave you one of my poems so you can work with her. THE FAIRY OF THE NIGHT

In the forest of fireflies,

lives 'The Fairy of the Night'

has a magic wand,

and some already know her,

A sick firefly,

was very muffled,

and was very sad,

because it did not light up.

Her friends worried,

went to call the fairy,

she walked in the night,

with her wand enchanted.

To the ill firefly,

with his wand he touched,

and at the moment with his light,

the little face lit up.

Taking advantage of technology for our purpose and using computers and tablets with simple games will always be fun for children when it comes to learning.

Finally I leave you a sentence of

Mario Vargas Llosa , Nobel Prize in Literature. Learning to read is the most important thing that has happened to me. Almost 70 years later I clearly remember that magic of translating words into images. '