Would you like to teach your child to read? You are very proud when your child begins to pick up books. You didn't get books at the baby shower, or did you? I have the methods to teach you how to teach your own child, and I will be referring about the child who is five or six and not reading.

Reading involves not just "sounding out the word". There are meaning cues, visual cues and structure cues that take place in a nanosecond before your child reads the word. Don't give the child a book that is meant for the adult to read. The book should be the child's own book in the very beginning. This is how your child will remember and build his or her own known words.

To teach your child to read, you must know what your child knows. You must test your child in a fun way and only spend a few minutes. All lessons should only last 30 minutes. More than that will bore your child and your time will not be fun the next time you both sit down to read.

Teach your child to read with these 5 activities:

*Sit down with your child at a table that is comfortable for your child. Write random letters across a paper in capital letters, then the lower case letters. Ask your child to say and the sound it makes. If it is unknown, mark it in a special notebook that is for you to record his reading and writing. Some five and six year olds only know one letter. Take index cards and write with marker the known letter. These letters will become their first words.

*Take your child's favorite book and ask "Do you know the front of the book?" "Do you know the back?

*Tell them the name of the author and illustrator. Open the first page and ask "Where do I begin to read?" Ask, "Where do we end?" If the book is memorized, ask, " Point to the word as you say it." Guide their pointer finger under each word to help them to move their eyes left to right. Have them look at the picture and find the word that starts with the first letter of that picture.

*Take some construction paper and fold it in half, Then staple some more together and you will form a small book. Have your child cut some favorite pictures from a magazine and put them in an envelope. You will paste one picture on each page. Maybe your child only knows "A". Paste a picture on the page and write "A" in front of the picture. For example- A cat, A dog.

* Cut a long strip of paper about an inch wide and write a short sentence with the words your child made in the book. Cut up the words. Mix the words and ask your child to arrange the words so they make sense. Take these words and put them in a special envelope that you will label. " My first words". It becomes a game to put the words back in order again.

* Draw a picture with your child of something that he or she really likes. The next day's lesson can be used to make another book with words the child will know.

This is the time when you find out what your child needs to learn, and you can do all of these tasks within 30 minutes or take only five minutes during the little spare time you have to do one of these activities. Early literacy is crucial to your child's success. To teach your own child to read is very rewarding and your book making will be a source of pride for you and your child.

Examples of good reading are demonstrated each night when you model for your child your fluent reading that sounds like talking. Read to your child. You can teach your child to read through these proven methods, so when you teach your child to read, he or she will be prepared for kindergarten and first grade. Go to the library and ask for books on level with your child's grade. These will be their bedtime stories.

Take your child's finger and have them point to the word as you read them. Most childrens' books are written for a mature reader. If your child is in preschool, then use his or her own books for their bedtime story. Of course, your child wants you to teach them to read because they have success and fun with you and they love you!

Mary D. Bogin is a 30 year veteran teacher. She holds an MA in Art Education, and taught art in the public schools for sixteen years. She was trained in teaching reading, and taught children and adults in various literacy programs, but her writing has been her focus after retiring. Visit http://www.mdbogin.wordpress.com for more articles about teaching children and adults, and stories about life. She is currently writing a fictional book about the year 2125.