LEARNING TO READ 101
In teaching a child to read, we teach both phonics (a way to decode new
words) and sight words (a "bank" of words the child knows and can read quickly). A child may learn more easily with one or the other, but it's vital to have both phonic and sight word knowledge in his/her repertoire. Then, you can begin to increase comprehension, but more on that later!
HOW YOU CAN HELP: each time we learn a new phonics skill, your child will bring home a practice sheet (these often have wheels or strips so that the different sounds can be practiced). Take a few minutes to have your child sound out, or "finger spell" (uses fingers for a visual aid), these words for you. Save for further practice if this sound was tricky for your child.
For sight words, our sight words are taken from the Dolch list of high-frequency words (words that we see most often are first, etc.). These are also our spelling words! So, as your child practices and learns the spelling words, make sure they are also learning to read them- quickly! (2-3 seconds per word.)
To help with comprehension, the best thing you can do is READ TO YOUR CHILD! This helps to build their receptive vocabulary, teaches them to read with expression and fluency, and shows them that READING IS FUN!!