27/08/2026
Long Post Alert!๐จ
๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ ๐๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒโฆ ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ. ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐บ?
Imagine your child is reading a book.
They see a picture of a cat.
The word underneath says:
cat
You cover the picture.
Suddenly, your child struggles.
That tells you something important.
They may have been relying on the picture as a clue rather than using the letters and sounds to work out the word.
And this is where we need to be careful.
๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐จ๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐๐นโ๐๐๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ๐ป'๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ.
Pictures can help children understand the meaning of a story.
They can make books interesting.
They can help children build vocabulary and make predictions.
But when a child is learning to decode a written word, we want them to pay attention to the print.
So instead of:
โ โLook at the picture. What do you think this word is?โ
Try:
โ
โLook at the letters. What sounds do you know?โ
Then help them work through the word.
For example:
c โ /k/
a โ /a/
t โ /t/
Then:
/k/ /a/ /t/ โ cat
That's a completely different reading behaviour.
๐ฑ ๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ?
Because we don't want children to become dependent on guessing.
If a child sees:
The boy is riding a _____.
and looks at a picture of a bicycle, they might say:
โbike!โ
But what happens when they encounter a word they have never seen before?
There may be no picture to rescue them.
๐ช๐ฒ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐ง๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐.
Look at the letters.
Recall the sounds.
Blend them.
Check whether the word makes sense in the sentence.
That's a much stronger foundation for independent reading.
๐ฏ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ
When your child gets stuck on a word:
1๏ธโฃ Don't immediately tell them the answer.
2๏ธโฃ Ask them to look at the letters.
3๏ธโฃ Ask: โWhat sounds do you recognise?โ
4๏ธโฃ Help them blend the sounds if appropriate.
5๏ธโฃ Then ask them to reread the sentence and check the meaning.
This teaches the child:
โI can work this out.โ
And that is exactly the kind of confidence we want to build.
๐ ๐ ๐ค๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ง๐ถ๐ฝ
If your child constantly looks at the picture before looking at the word, don't panic.
Don't shame them.
Just gently redirect their attention to the print.
You can say:
โค๏ธ โLet's look at the word. What do the letters tell us?โ
Over time, you're helping them develop a more reliable reading habit.
๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ
This is exactly why the foundations of phonics matter.
In Mastering Early Literacy: A Comprehensive Guide to Jolly Phonics, I focus on the building blocks children need to become confident readersโincluding letter sounds, blending, segmenting, tricky words and practical teaching strategies.
Because teaching a child to read isn't about helping them guess the right answer.
๐๐'๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐๐.
๐ฌ ๐ค๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ข๐ณ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐
When your child gets stuck on a word, what do they usually do first?
๐ Look at the picture?
๐ค Look at the letters?
๐ค Guess?
Tell me in the comments. ๐๐ฝ
๐ฟ Helping parents and teachers raise confident readersโone practical step at a time.
ยฉ๏ธFausat Dasola Lasisi Katayeyanjue
Founder, Parenting & Literacy Hub
Share this with a parent or teacher who is helping a child learn to read. โค๏ธ
