"Get real!" Kids say stuff like that, and they are right. Things really should be "Real." The same goes for teaching kids to read: it needs to be real! Yet reading is such an abstract concept. Think about it. You need to memorize a bunch of random sounds and put them all together to make words. So the question is HOW DO I MAKE IT REAL? The answer is: Make it hands on. Here is one of my favorites. Go out and get some Giant Pipe Cleaners, give them to your child and ask them to create sounds for you. Then have them put the sounds that they created into words. Now have them read back to you the words they created. Important point: Don't ever correct your child if they create a word that doesn't exist! The point of this exercise is to practice reading, NOT vocabulary. Guess what, you just made reading real!