The building blocks of reading

Help your child build a foundation for reading.
by:
YouTube video

This video helps parents of beginning readers understand how a child learns to read, from letters and letter sounds to understanding a story. It explains the five foundational skills of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. It also offers tips on how parents can help their kids practice these skills, and become a better reader. The video is most appropriate for parents of children in preschool and kindergarten.

About the author

GreatSchools.org is a national nonprofit with a mission to help every child obtain a high-quality education that values their unique abilities, identities, and aspirations. We believe in the power of research-backed, actionable information to empower parents, family members, and educators to help make this happen. For 25 years, the GreatSchools Editorial Team has been working to make the latest, most important, and most actionable research in education, learning, and child development accessible and actionable for parents through articles, videos, podcasts, hands-on learning resources, email and text messaging programs, and more. Our team consists of journalists, researchers, academics, former teachers and education leaders — most of whom are also dedicated parents and family members — who not only research, fact check, and write or produce this information, but who use it in our daily lives as well. We welcome your feedback at editorial@greatschools.org.