HOW TO TEACH A KINDERGARTEN KID TO SPEED READ — WITHOUT EVER LEARNING TO SLOW-READ FIRST!
Several years ago, I received an email from someone who wanted to know if there was any way to teach a child to Speed Read, without having to go through the process of learning how to “Slow Read” first. In other words, why learn to Slow Read, if the children can simply go directly to Speed Reading, and start off reading fast — with good comprehension?
It’s a good question.
You may even think it’s impossible.
But the truth is, that it’s already been done before. This is not a new idea. In fact, I know of two different methods that have been successfully used to accomplish this. Of these two methods, only one is simple enough for any parent to copy-cat and try at home (if they are flexible, and willing to experiment).
Many years ago, I listened to one Speed Reading teacher explain to his class how he taught his 5- or 6- year old daughter to Speed Read, in the Summer Vacation before she entered First Grade. By the time school started in September, his daughter was already reading about 500 words per minute (wpm), with good comprehension.
Not bad for an incoming 1st grader!
(Just for comparison, only about 1% of all college graduates can read faster than 450 wpm, with good comprehension.)
I have written down and summarized, from memory, the gist of how this was done, and modified it into a lesson plan which teaches the key points and methods.
Following are the preliminary instructions on how to teach a 5- or 6-year old pre-school child (who is starting off as a non-reader) to speed read, without going through the process of learning how to slow-read, first.
STEP-BY-STEP LESSONS:
1) Have your child sit on your lap while you read aloud to him. While reading aloud, trace your finger under the words that you are reading. Do this for a few minutes per day, on an ongoing basis. Most children enjoy this.
Make sure that the font size of the books that you use is large. The larger, the better. It’s important for your child to clearly see the printed words on the page. Little children have difficulty discerning the tiny letters and words that are printed in most books that are on 5th grade level or higher.
2) Occasionally point out a word on the page and tell your child what it says (i.e. “this says ‘book,’” or “this says ‘car,’” etc.). Have the child say the word. Have him visualize in his mind each word if possible (some words like ‘the’ cannot be visualized, but help make the story more understandable).
Have him describe how the object described by the word looks, in detail, in his mind’s eye.
3) Occasionally, ask the child to look around the page and point out all the other places on the page where a particular word appears. [Be sure to give your child encouragement and congratulations for doing such a good job].
4) Occasionally, spend a minute or two having the child look at all the words on a page (or two, or three), line by line, as you trace your finger underneath each line on the page (this would be “silent reading” with the “Rapid Underlining Technique”). Go at the rate of about 1 second to 2 seconds per line. Don’t go slower than 2 seconds per line. (You don’t want to train him to slow-read)
5) After a few weeks of reading to your child, and doing the rapid underlining techniques (and teaching them various words day by day), your child will be able to zoom his eyes down the page, line by line, and get some comprehension in simple books. Comprehension will not be great at first, but keep giving encouragement and love. And keep reading to your child to reinforce the fun of reading.
6) While Speed Reading with the rapid underlining technique, teach your child to turn the groups of words that they see into a Movie in their minds. This is Visualization.
7) Gradually, have your child take over the role of tracing under the words (with his finger) as he looks at all the words on each page (silently). Have him tell you, after each page or two, what he recalls.
8) Gradually, have him go for larger numbers of pages at a time, and tell you what he recalls after each reading. Give your child lots of praise and encouragement every day for his great progress. Even if you child doesn’t seem to be making much progress, praise him every day for his effort and persistence. Tell him how talented and wonderful he is.
After a few weeks/months, he will get better and better, until he can Speed Read independently.
NOTES & COMMENTS:
A) When the child is speed reading independently in simple 1st and 2nd grade chapter books, he will likely still be Speed Reading line by line. This is just fine. 500 words per minute is a very good reading rate for a 5- or 6-year old child. However, if he is already Speed Reading more than one line simultaneously, you can skip note B) below.
B) After a few weeks of initial Speed Reading, you can introduce him to the concept of Speed Reading 3 lines simultaneously. Do this for only 1 or 2 minutes per day, for only one week. Keep it fun and exciting, and positive, and there’s a pretty good chance he’ll get it. (and if he does, he’ll be on to new frontiers). But if he doesn’t catch on to “3-lines-at-once Speed Reading” after one week of trying, then you should discontinue it.
Some kids get it, and some don’t. Don’t worry about it and move on.
C) Another thing that you can do, is to do one or two PowerPoint Drills per day, using one of your child’s favorite stories put into a PowerPoint file, one-word-at-a-time. Follow the instructions in Lesson #1 or Lesson #2. This could also help your child to improve his reading speed even more.
— George Stancliffe, author of Speed Reading 4 Kids