How to Teach Phonemic Awareness While Reading Bedtime Stories

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com

 

Helping young children develop phonemic awareness early on is one of the keys for children to develop exceptional reading and writing skills once they begin attending schools. Did you know that studies have indicated that phonemic awareness is the single best predictor of reading success for young children once they begin school? In fact, studies have found that phonemic awareness is far better than IQ at predicting the reading and spelling abilities of young children.

Most people  know about phonics, and what it is; however, far fewer people know what phonemic awareness is. In short, phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and work with the phonemes. For example, /d/, /o/, and /g/, are the individual sounds of the word "dog". Please note, the letters enclosed in the slashes denotes the sound of the letter, and not the name of the letter. Phonemes are the smallest units of individual sounds that form a word.

Phonemic awareness is not something you're born with, and it is an ability that's gained through repeated exposure to listening, speaking, and reading. As parents, there are many different strategies you can use to help your children develop phonemic awareness such as playing simple word segmentation or oral blending games.

Like most parents, we (my wife and I) read bedtime stories before we put our children to sleep, and one of the best strategies that we like to use to teach phonemic awareness to our children, is to mix in word segmenting and oral blending when we read bedtime stories for our kids. This is an exceptional method, because it doesn't take any extra time or effort, since reading bedtime stories is something you already do. So, here's how to go about it.

Let's say that you're reading a nursery rhyme "Jack and Jill":

Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.

Instead of reading each word straight through the rhyme, you can randomly mix in oral blending on various words in the rhyme. Please note: instead of using slashes "/" to denote phonemes, we'll simply use hyphens to make it easier to read. So, let's assume that your child is very young, perhaps 2, 3, or 4 years old, and you want to start helping them develop some phonemic awareness. You can read Jack and Jill like so:

J-ack and J-ill went up the h-ill
To fetch a p-ail of water.
J-ack fell down and broke his crown
And J-ill came tumbling after.

As you can see, when you read the rhyme, you simply make an effort to separate several of the first letters sounds from the words, such as /J/ from "ack", and /J/ from "ill". As your child begins to grasp the concept of individual sounds making up words, you can slowly increase the difficulty by breaking down each word further. For example:

Jack
J-ack
J-a-ck

Repeated exposure of this type of word segmenting and oral blending will slowly help your child develop a sense and an understanding that each word is made up of individual sounds - in other words, you are teaching phonemic awareness to your children during bedtime stories without them even knowing that they are being taught to!

Notes:

1. Cognition. 1991 Sep;40(3):219-49.
The relationship of phonemic awareness to reading acquisition: more consequence than precondition but still important.
Wimmer H, Landerl K, Linortner R, Hummer P.
University of Salzburg, Austria.

How to Teach Your Baby to Read

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com

 

Teaching your baby to read is becoming more and more high priority for parents now as it becomes clear that learning to read at a young age offers numerous advantages for the child once he or she begins school. Studies have consistently found that teaching a baby to read and helping children develop phonemic awareness well before entering school can significantly improve their development in reading and spelling. However, when it comes to teaching babies to read, there are two main teaching methods.

These two main methods of teaching a baby or child to read are the whole language method, and the phonics and phonemic awareness method (the phonetic approach), which should be the preferred teaching method in helping children learn to read. Some prefer the whole language method, while others use the phonics approach, and there are also educator that use a mix of different approaches. With the Look-say approach of whole language learning, a child begins with memorizing sight words, and then taught various strategies of figuring out the text from various clues.

The whole language method produces inaccurate and poor readers compared to students of the phonetic approach. Using the whole word approach, English is being taught as an ideographic language such as Chinese. One of the biggest arguments from whole-language advocates is that teaching a baby to read using phonics breaks up the words into letters and syllables, which have no actual meaning, yet they fail to acknowledge the fact that once the child is able to decode the word, they are able to actually READ that entire word, pronounce it, and understand its meaning. So in practicality, it's a very weak argument. English is an alphabetic system, and unlike Chinese, it is not an ideograph like Chinese characters, and should not be taught using an ideographic approach.

I always say that if your baby can speak, then you can begin to teach your baby to read. I won't mention any names here, but I think most parents are probably aware of one very popular "reading" program, which is a whole word approach. Using this method, your baby simply learns to memorize the words without actually reading the words. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that teaching your baby to read using the whole word approach is an effective method. In fact, there are large numbers of studies which have consistently stated that teaching children to reading using phonemic awareness is a highly effective method.

Teaching phonemic awareness to children significantly improves their reading more than instruction that lacks any attention to phonemic awareness. - statement made by the National Reading Panel [1]

I do think that the debate on the effectiveness of teaching a baby to read using either the whole language or phonics method is settled by the statements made by the National Reading Panel. They reviewed over 1,960 different studies to make their conclusions.

In fact, while my wife was pregnant with our first child, I began doing extensive research on the subject on how to teach my baby to read - after birth, of course. Like most parents I also came across the popular whole word teaching approach being heavily marketed. Seeing the infomercials got me quite excited actually, seeing the babies on TV "reading". But after trying it out, it occurred to me that the our baby wasn't actually "reading", but actually "memorizing", and I thought to myself, how are my children supposed to read newer, and more complicated words as they grow older without an appropriate method of decoding those words? This is where my long and extensive research into phonics and phonemic awareness began.

After many hours of research and learning as much as I could, I felt comfortable enough with our simple phonemic awareness teaching method, that my wife and I began giving brief 3 to 5 minute lessons to our daughter, aged 2 years and 8 months. Within just a few short weeks, her reading ability (and I mean actual reading ability, not memorization) was astounding, even for me as the parent who gave the reading instructions. Friends and family alike, were simply flabbergasted at what our daughter was capable of reading at just 2 years and 11 months. Please watch the video above, composed of clips of her reading randomly created sentences for reading fun.

I simply can't imagine this kind of progress possible with the whole word approach - just think of the tens and hundreds of words a young child would have to memorize!

Our son is fast approaching the age where he will soon be able to speak, and we will be using the same simple step-by-step method to teach him to read. If you'd like to learn more about our simple, effective, step-by-step program, please signup for our newsletter below. We also send out new articles, updates, tips, and guides on teaching a baby to read.

Notes:

1. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

How to Teach Phonics and Reading

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com

 

Teaching children to read by teaching phonics activities is a lot like doing math, where you have to know what the numbers are, how to count, and you need to learn to add and subtract before learning to multiply and divide. Teaching phonics to children is no different where you follow a step by step approach by first teaching the child the alphabet letters and phonics sounds, and then teaching them the combination of different letters to create different words, and using words to form sentences. It is a very logical and sequential buildup of phonics knowledge and reading ability.

Before a child can learn to read, he or she must first learn the alphabet letters, and know the sounds represented by the letters. It's usually easier to teach some consonants and short vowels first before moving on to more complicated things such as consonant digraphs (2 consonants formed to produce one sound, such as "ch" or "ph") and long vowels. As you can see, teaching children to read by the phonics method helps them develop phonemic awareness, and it is also a very logical and straight forward approach.

Start off by teaching your child the phonics sounds. You can choose to teach your child in alphabetic order going from A to Z, or you can teach several commonly used consonant sounds and vowels, and go from there. For example, you may start teaching your child /a/, /c/, and /t/ (slashes denote sound of the letters). Once your child has learn to quickly recognize these letters and properly sound out their sounds, you can then teach them to blend /c/, /a/, /t/ to make the words "cat", or "tac", or "at".

As you introduce more letters and phonics sounds in your lesson plans, you can generate more words, and slowly introduce short, simple sentences to your reading lessons. Depending on the age of your child, I would suggest keeping the phonics lessons relatively short - around 5 to 10 minutes. Sometimes, just 3 to 5 minutes for a short lesson is plenty, and you can easily teach these short phonics lessons 2 or 3 times each day for a total of 10 to 15 minutes. Young children tend to be forgetful, so repetition is very important.

You don't want to make the lessons too long and boring, that the child begins to feel like doing a "chore" when learning to read. So keep it short, fun, and interesting. By keeping the phonics lessons short, you also avoid overwhelming the child with too much information, and always remember to make sure your child has mastered one lesson before moving on to new material. Confusion and uncertainty will only make their learning effort difficult and frustrating - so review often, move on to new material only after they've mastered the current lessons.

So when can you start teaching phonics sounds and lessons to children? Not everyone will agree with me on this, but I believe that if your child can speak, then your child can learn to read. Of course, every child is different and unique, and some children will be more receptive to learning reading than others. One thing for certain, is that the earlier a child learns to read, the better.

We have taught our 2 year old daughter to read through teaching phonics sounds and lessons, and helping her develop phonemic awareness. If you watched the video above, that is our daughter reading randomly created sentences. We simply started teaching phonics sounds to her by spending 5 to 10 minutes each day, spread between 2 to 3 separate lessons, and slowly introduced new letters and reading material.

Developing Phonemic Awareness and Learning Reading

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com

As more research brings to light the advantages of phonics and phonemic awareness instructions have over whole language teaching methods, more parents are becoming aware of teaching using phonics and phonemic awareness skills. Many parents today are concerned about the method that is being used to teach their children how to read, and rightfully so. The whole language method is more of a method of "word memorization", where the child is taught to look at printed words as whole configurations, much like looking at Chinese characters.

Teaching phonemic awareness skills involves the break down of words into individual sounds (phonemes), and then joining the parts to form, or sound out the words. By contrast, whole language learning stresses the flow and meaning of the text, where "sounding out" words is not used, the words are decoded through its larger context, and word memorization plays a key role. What would you rather do, memorize hundreds or even thousands of words based on shapes, or learn a systematic way of reading?

English is not meant to be memorized as shapes and sight objects. It becomes very difficult to learn to read by memorizing and recognizing shapes. Phonics and teaching phonemic awareness skills requires you to memorize the letters and the sounds they represent, and with this method, children as young as two years old can learn to read successfully, and comprehend what they are reading. Try teaching a young child with the whole language learning method, see how successful he or she will be at memorizing shapes. Teaching by using phonics will routinely produce successful readers.

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that phonics is clearly a superior method of teaching children how to read. In the USA, over 30 million adults (14%) are considered functionally illiterate, and are unable to perform simple everyday literacy activities. [1] This however, should not be surprising since over one third of all children cannot even achieve basic reading competency by the time they are in grade four. This is a finding from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Are these children failing at literacy because they are dumb? I I hardly think so, but perhaps it is a result of the poor reading instructions they receive.

It has been proven time and again, that teaching phonemic awareness skill produces superior reading and spelling abilities than whole language teaching methods. Thousands of studies have confirmed this, and the National Reading Panel has also made a clear statement about this.

While most teachers will probably say that they teach using some phonics, the truth is that many teachers are not knowledgeable in the basic concepts of the English language. No, I'm not making a random statement. In a recent study, the researchers stated: "many in-service teachers are not knowledgeable in the basic concepts of the English language". Their study found that even though the teachers may be well versed in children's literature, but they do not know how to address the basic building blocks of language and reading. In their survey of instructors conducted, the researchers found that the teachers performed poorly on the concepts relating to morphemes and phonemes. In another second study, over 80% of the interviewed instructors agreed that phonics is a desirable method to use for beginning reading instructions. [2]

Some argue that a child will acquire a knowledge of phonics on his or her own after learning to read using whole language methods. While this may be true for some children, it is hardly the case for the other children with reading difficulties. When a child is taught to read using a whole word approach, they develop a habit of looking at all the words by their whole configurations, and this prevents the child from seeing the phonetic structure of the words. Real readers who learned to read by learning phonemic awareness skills do not need clues or cues to help them recognize shapes - they develop an automatic ability to decode the letters and words.

Ultimately, it is up to the parents to decide the path for which to teach their children to read. They can either simply leave it up to the education system, and hope that their child does not end up being one of the 38% grade four students which do not develop even basic reading achievement, or they can take the initiative and make the decision to help their children develop phonemic awareness skills early on before even starting kindergarten. Research on phonemic awareness has shown time after time that phonemic awareness skills predicted reading and spelling success of children in school.

Notes:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_illiteracy

2. J Learn Disabil. 2009 Sep-Oct;42(5):392-402. Epub 2009 Jun 19.
Why elementary teachers might be inadequately prepared to teach reading.
Joshi RM, Binks E, Hougen M, Dahlgren ME, Ocker-Dean E, Smith DL.
Texas A&M University, USA.

Teaching Children to Read and Write

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com

Most parents, at one point or another, frets over the education and the development of their children. Many concerned parents research and seek information on the topic of teaching children to read and write. I for one, am glad to see so many parents wanting to get an early start for their children in reading and writing, because studies have shown that developing these abilities early on before entering school provides numerous benefits and advantages later on as the child progresses through school. 

More worrisome should be the fact that over one third, 38% to be exact, of all grade 4 students cannot even achieve a basic level of reading ability according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This is an alarming statistic. Will your child become one of the 38% who cannot reach basic reading achievement by grade 4? For most children, this poor ability to read can be easily prevented with early phonemic awareness teaching.

Reading must begin early in the life of a child, whether it is just an alphabet letter, a word, a sentence, a paragraph, or a story. Teaching children how to read must begin early on, and children should be exposed to books, stories, rhymes, and be read to on a daily basis. Children as young as 2 years old can learn to read if you teach them to read with the proper instructions. Please watch the video below of a 2 year 11 months old reading randomly constructed sentences.

As Lida Williams said, almost 100 years ago:

Phonics is not a method of teaching reading, but it is a necessary part of every good, modern method. It is the key to word mastery, and word mastery is one of the first essentials in learning to read. A knowledge of the sounds of letters, and of the effect of the position of the letter upon its sound, is an essential means of mastering the mechanics of reading, and of enabling children to become independent readers.

100 years later, this still holds true. There has been a great debate on what method of teaching is best to teach children how to read: whether phonics or the whole language method is better. The whole language learning to read method is more of a "word memorization" plan, where a young child is supposed to memorize the "shape" of the word, and say it.

It is important to distinguish the difference between phonological awareness and phonemic awareness. Phonological awareness is very broad, and includes phonemic awareness as a sub category. Phonemic awareness is very narrow, and it is only focused on the phonemes, which are the individual sounds of letters. There are no shortage of studies which have repeatedly found and concluded that teaching phonemic awareness to young children produces exceptional reading and spelling abilities.

The whole language method simply expects a child to "read" when presented reading material, and by memorizing sight words. The phonics method is a bottom up approach where you teach children to read in a logical and sequential order. You first teach children the alphabet letters and the sounds they represent; then you teach children to combine (or blend) various letter sounds together to form words; which is then followed by reading sentences and simple stories. This is a logical progression for children learning to read, where they develop accuracy in decoding words and pronouncing words. This method of teaching also helps the child to spell correctly. 

There's no doubt that phonics and phonemic awareness instruction is the superior method to teach children how to read. We have successfully used phonemic awareness instructions to teach our children at age 2 to read words, sentences, paragraphs, and simple story books.

Advantages of Teaching Children Reading Early

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com

Before a child learns to read, he or she must first learn the spoken language, and this is one of the first instances where family members such as dad, mom, older siblings, and grandparents play an important role in "teaching" the child the spoken English language. Whether young children realize it or not, they gain very early exposure to the alphabet when parents sing the alphabet song to them. They begin to develop language skills by being read to and spoken to. One of the keys to teaching children reading early on is by exposing them to alphabet letters, books, and reading to them often.

Reading nursery rhymes and children's books are an important part of getting children to understand printed text. Talk to your children, and talk to them often, whether they understand or not is not important when they're just babies. The more you talk and interact with your little ones, the better they will develop. The key is exposure, and repeated exposure. Once your child learns to speak, you can begin teaching them reading at home.

I often hear parents say that they don't want to "push" their child too hard. How can teaching your child to read at a young age be considered "pushing" them too hard? If you as a parent already have the mentality that reading is a chore, and teaching them to read is pushing "too hard", you certainly can't expect your children to be excited about learning reading. On the contrary, learning to read offers a young child an opportunity for a lifetime to learn, discover, and enjoy the wonders of reading. Parents (including myself) will often underestimate the abilities and learning capabilities of young children. When we first began our teaching reading program with our first child when she was 2 years and 8 months, little did we expect that in just a few short weeks, she would be reading not just words, but sentences and story books. After about 3 months, by the time she was 2 years 11 months old, our daughter could read "Step in to Reading - step 2 (pre-school to grade 1 level)" books with some guidance. The benefits of learning to read were apparent - improved speech clarity, and better reading ability and reading comprehension.

There are no shortage of studies which find many benefits in teaching children reading at an early age. For example, one study administered a Stanford achievement test at the start of kindergarten and then again at the end of grade one found that early language based skills were highly associated with later academic performance in school aged children. [1] Similar studies also found that a high level of letter knowledge in kindergarten can reliably predict better later literacy skills.[2] Having a home environment that's conducive to literacy growth is critical in a child's development, and directly affects a child's language and literacy development. Studies have found that responsiveness and support of the home environment is the strongest predictor of children's language and early literacy skills. [3] My point here is help make parents aware that children who enter kindergarten with highly developed early reading skills will achieve greater success with systematic reading education. [4]

It's never too late to start home lessons and programs to teach your children to read. Regardless how old your child is, starting a reading program at a young age will have ample benefits. Start with lots of talking, singing, and reading to your child right from birth, and once your child is able to speak, you can start a simple reading program.

Begin with teaching your child some basic letters and their sounds, and even as soon your child learn just a few letters and their sounds, you can begin teaching them simple blends using the letter knowledge that they have acquired. Work on ear training with your child on oral blending and word segmentation. One of the keys to teaching children read is developing phonemic awareness. Studies have shown that phonemic awareness is one of the best predictors of reading success in children.

Notes:

1. Percept Mot Skills. 2001 Apr;92(2):381-90.
Relationship between language skills and academic achievement in first grade.
Kastner JW, May W, Hildman L.
Department of Pediatrics, Child Development Clinic, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson 39216, USA.

2. J Exp Child Psychol. 1996 Jun;62(1):30-59.
Kindergarten letter knowledge, phonological skills, and memory processes: relative effects on early literacy.
Näslund JC, Schneider W.
University of New Mexico, College of Education, Program in Educational

3. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2005 Apr;48(2):345-59.
The role of home literacy practices in preschool children's language and emergent literacy skills.
Roberts J, Jurgens J, Burchinal M.
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute,The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599-8180, USA.

4. Psychol Rep. 1994 Apr;74(2):403-7.
Kindergarten predictors of first-grade reading achievement: a regular classroom sample.
McCormick CE, Stoner SB, Duncan S.
Psychology Department, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston 61920.

Teaching a Child to Read at an Early Age

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com 

Did you know that 38% of grade four students have reading abilities below the lowest basic level as determined by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)? The NAEP is the only ongoing survey of what students known and tracks their performance in various academic subjects for the United States. In their report, the NAEP found that 38% of grade four students had reading achievement below basic levels, with a basic level reading score being 208.

To put things in perspective, the US reading scale has an upper limit score of 500, with average reading scores for grade 4 (217), grade 8 (264), and grade 12 (291). The grade 4 reading achievement levels are categorized by the NAEP as Advanced (268 score), Proficient (238 score), and Basic (208 score), and the basic reading achievement level is defined as follows by the NAEP:

Fourth-grade students performing at the Basic level should demonstrate an understanding of the overall meaning of what they read. When reading text appropriate for fourth graders, they should be able to make relatively obvious connections between the text and their own experiences and extend the ideas in the text by making simple inferences. [1]

Unfortunately, over a third of all grade four students read at levels even below basic. Is your child having reading difficulties? Research on Phonemic Awareness have found that early reading helps improves a child's reading and spelling abilities. In fact, the National Reading Panel has concluded based on their massive review of over 1,900 studies that teaching phonics and phonemic awareness produces better reading results than whole language programs.

There are numerous documented benefits and advantages of teaching children to read early on, and teaching them to reading using phonics and phonemic awareness instructions. It is clear that early language and reading ability development passes great benefits to the child as they progress through school at all grades, and that early language and reading problems can lead to learning problems later on in school. For example, a Swedish study found that children with a history of reading problems at school entry scores significantly below average on reading in grade 4. As well, children that shows very low interest in books and story reading before age 5 also scored similarly low on sentence reading in grade 4. [2] This is just one of many studies which have similar findings, and this makes it an imperative for parents to begin exposing their children to books and reading at an early age.

So how early?

Good question!

There's no set guideline on when you should start teaching your children to read; however, you can start cultivating your child's love for books and reading as soon as they're born. Obviously, very young babies would not even know what books are, however, talking to your child and reading to your child will help them develop a keen liking for books and stories. As your child grows and gets older, avoid TV-sitting them, because as they develop a dependency on television as their main source of entertainment, it becomes very difficult to dislodge that need for TV entertainment, and get them to enjoy reading books. Instead, keep age appropriate books all around the house, and read to them often. You'll find that they'll start picking up books and pretend to read themselves, although at very early ages, they still cannot read.

People typically think that kindergarten or grade one would be an appropriate time for their children to start reading; however, this is not the best approach as studies have repeatedly found that children with good phonemic awareness before entering kindergarten continues to outperform, and achieve exceptional reading and spelling abilities as they progress through school. On the other hand, children who enter school with reading difficulties may continue to have reading and spelling difficulties.

Notes:

1. NAEP 1998 Reading Report Card for the Nation and the States
March 1999
Authors: Patricia L. Donahue, Kristin E. Voelkl, Jay R. Campbell, and John Mazzeo

2. J Learn Disabil. 1999 Sep-Oct;32(5):464-72.
Early language development and kindergarten phonological awareness as predictors of reading problems: from 3 to 11 years of age.
Olofsson A, Niedersøe J.
Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Sweden.

Phonemic Awareness Research

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com

Phonemic Awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds which make up words. In the past few decades, large amounts of research have improved our understanding of phonemic awareness and its importance in helping children learn to read. There are hundreds of research studies conducted on all aspects of phonemic awareness, and how it affects and benefits reading and spelling abilities of young children. The National Reading Panel of the US have stated that phonemic awareness improves children's reading and reading comprehension, and that it also helps children to learn to spell. Based on the research and reviews done by the National Reading Panel, they have concluded that teaching phonics and phonemic awareness produces better reading results than whole language programs.

When teaching phonemic awareness, children are taught the smallest units of sound, or phonemes. During the teaching process, children are taught to focus on the phonemes, and learn to manipulate the phonemes in words. Studies have identified phonemic awareness and letter knowledge as the two best school-entry predictors of how well children will learn to read during the first 2 years of instruction. In a review of phonemic awareness research, the National Reading Panel (NRP) identified 1,962 citations, and the results of their meta-analysis were impressive as stated in the NRP publication:

Overall, the findings showed that teaching children to manipulate phonemes in words was highly effective under a variety of teaching conditions with a variety of learners across a range of grade and age levels and that teaching phonemic awareness to children significantly improves their reading more than instruction that lacks any attention to phonemic awareness (PA).

Specifically, the results of the experimental studies led the Panel to conclude that PA training was the cause of improvement in students’ phonemic awareness, reading, and spelling following training. The findings were replicated repeatedly across multiple experiments and thus provide converging evidence for causal claims. [1]

As can be clearly seen, teaching children phonemic awareness early on significantly improves their reading and spelling abilities. Furthermore, the NRP research stated that these beneficial effects of phonemic awareness teaching goes well beyond the end of training period. The NRP phonemic awareness research also found that the most effective teaching method was to systematically teach children to manipulate phonemes with letters, and teaching children in small groups.

Phonemic awareness (PA) teaching provides children with an essential foundation of the alphabet system, and a foundation in reading and spelling. The NRP has stated that PA instructions is a necessary instructional component within a complete reading program.

Below are two other studies done on phonemic awareness, and its effects on reading abilities. In a study involving children aged 6 to 7 years old, researchers found that the few readers at the beginning of grade one exhibited high phonemic awareness scored at least close to perfect in the vowel substitution task, compared to none in children of the same age group who could not read when they entered school. The research also stated that phonemic awareness differences before instruction predicted the accuracy of alphabetic reading and spelling at the end of grade one independent from IQ. Children with high phonemic awareness at the start of grade one had high reading and spelling achievements at the end of grade one; however, some of the children with low phonemic awareness had difficulties learning to read and spell. The study suggested that phonemic awareness is the critical variable for the progress in learning to read. [2]

Another study looked at phonemic awareness and emergent literacy skills of 42 children with an average age of 5 years and 7 months. The researchers indicated that relations between phonemic awareness and spelling skills are bidirectional where phonemic awareness improved spelling skills, and spelling influenced the growth in phonemic skills. [3]

It is clear that with the conclusions made by the National Reading Panel and other research studies on the benefits of phonemic awareness, children should be taught PA at a young age before entering school. This helps them build a strong foundation for learning to read and spell.

 

 

Notes:

1. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 

2. Cognition. 1991 Sep;40(3):219-49.
The relationship of phonemic awareness to reading acquisition: more consequence than precondition but still important.
Wimmer H, Landerl K, Linortner R, Hummer P.
University of Salzburg, Austria.

3. Exp Child Psychol. 2002 Jun;82(2):93-115.
Emergent literacy skills and training time uniquely predict variability in responses to phonemic awareness training in disadvantaged kindergartners.
Hecht SA, Close L.

Teaching Phonics to Children

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com 

Phonics is a necessary part of any good method of teaching children to read. Teaching Children phonics and helping them develop phonemic awareness is the key to mastering words, which is the first key step toward successful reading. Children need to develop a knowledge of the letters, the sounds represented by the letters, and the connection between sounds created by combining the letters where words are formed. This is an essential part of mastering reading, and enabling children to become independent readers. By learning phonics and phonemic awareness, children gain the ability to pronounce new words, develop clear articulation, improve spelling, and develop self confidence.

When it comes to teaching your children to read, it must include three basic principles:

1. Reading for the child, whether it's a word, sentence, or story, must appeal to your child's interests.
2. Never pressure or force your child into reading, turning it into a negative "event" in their life. It should be a fun, enjoyable, and rewarding experience. This will take ample amounts of patience on the part of the parents, and some creativity.
3. Teaching your child to read must begin with the mastery of the phonemes - the individual sounds which makeup the words.

The basic process of teaching phonics and phonemic awareness to children includes teaching them the letters and letter sounds; then you teach the child to combine (or blend) various letter sounds together to form words; which is then followed by reading sentences and simple stories. This is a logical progression for children to learn reading, where they develop accuracy in decoding words and pronouncing words. This method of teaching also helps the child to spell correctly. Gradually, the different elements of phonics are combined to produce new words, and leads to the discovery of new words by the child using this process which becomes an "automatic reflex".

Teaching phonics to children should take 10 to 15 minutes each day, and these "lessons" should take place in several small sessions each day - such as 4 or 5 session lasting 3 to 5 minutes each. For older pre-school children, lessons can be slightly longer; however, several minutes each session is all that's needed.

One way to start teaching phonics to children with with ear training - by helping them develop the understanding that words are made up of smaller units of sounds, or known as phonemes, and when you combine these sounds, a word is formed. You can start this with very short sessions, as already mentioned. A few minutes a day is all that you need. The key, however, is consistency and patience.

During these short sessions, sound out words slowly and distinctly. You can do this without even making the child aware that you are trying to teach them. Simply take words from your everyday speaking to your child and include oral blending sounds into your sentences. For example, if you wanted to ask your child to drink his milk, you could say: "Joe, d-r-i-n-k your m-ilk." The words drink and milk are sounded out slowly and distinctly. The level of sound separation can be set by you to increase or lower the difficulty. Thus, if Joe has a tough time figuring out that d-r-i-n-k means drink, you can lower the difficulty by blending the word as dr-ink instead.

Alternatively, you could simply pick different words and play blending sounds games with your child. You simply say the sounds of the word slowly, and ask the child try to guess what you are saying.

This concept of individual sounds forming words may take some time for your child to grasp. Some children will pick it up quickly, while other children may take longer, but one thing that's certain is that if you keep it up, your child will catch on. Below are some sample words which you can use to play blending sounds activities with your child.

J-u-m-p   J-ump
R-u-n   R-un
S-i-t   S-it
S-t-a-n-d   St-and
M-i-l-k   M-ilk
S-t-o-p   St-op

The first word is more segmented than the second word, and will be more difficult to sound out. Please note that hyphens are used to indicate the letter sounds instead of slashes.

ie: J-u-m-p  /J/ /u/ /m/ /p/

This is done to make things easier to read; however, when you read it, you should not read the names of the letters, but instead say the sounds of the letters. This type of ear training for phonics and phonemic awareness should continue throughout the teaching process, even well after your child have grasped this concept. It can be applied to words with increasing difficulty. Again, please always keep in mind that not all children can readily blend the sounds to hear the word, so you must be patient, and drill this for days, weeks, or even months if needed. Consistency and frequency is the key to success here, and not sporadic binge sessions.

How to Help Your Child Learn to Read

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com

The ability to read is vital for success. It helps your child succeed in school, helps them build self-confidence, and helps to motivate your child. Being able to read will help your child learn more about the world, understand directions on signs and posters, allow them to find reading as an entertainment, and help them gather information.

Learning to read is very different from learning to speak, and it does not happen all at once. There is a steady progression in the development of reading ability over time. The best time for children to start learning to read is at a very young age - even before they enter pre-school. Once a child is able to speak, they can begin developing basic reading skills. Very young children have a natural curiosity to learn about everything, and they are naturally intrigued by the printed texts they see, and are eager to learn about the sounds made by those letters. You will likely notice that your young child likes to look at books and thoroughly enjoys being read to. They will even pretend to behave like a reader by holding books and pretend to read them.

As parents, you're the most important first step in your children's journey into the wonderful world of reading. It is up to you to create the most supportive environment that turns your child on to reading - such as reading aloud to them often during the day and before bedtime, and placing age appropriate books for children around the house, so that the child will have access to plenty of books. Reading often to your child will help develop their interest in books and stories, and soon they will want to read stories on their own.

With the help of parents, children can learn how to read. Make reading into a family activity, and spend time playing words games and reading story books. This will not only help you child learn to read, but it'll also help them build a rich vocabulary, teach them language patterns, and help them fall in love with books and reading.

Below are some tips to help you teach your child to read.

Talk to your child - before a child can learn to read, he or she must first learn to speak. Talk to your child about everything and anything - whatever interests them. Tell them stories, ask your child lots of questions, play rhyme games, and sing songs with them.

Read to your child consistently everyday - we're all creatures of habit, and enjoy having a daily routine. Set time aside each day to read to your child. Read to your child every night. Make this their "cool down" period before they go to sleep. This not only helps your child develop an interest in books and reading, it also help the parent bond with the child, and develop a healthy relationship.

Help your child develop reading comprehension - typically, parents will take the time to read for their children; however, many parents do not put much emphasis or thought on whether their children understands what they've just been read to. Instead, occasionally, make an effort to question your child on what you've just read. For example, you read to your child:

"Jack and Jill went up the hill..."

You pause briefly and ask your child:

"So where did Jack and Jill go?" Or alternatively, "Who went up the hill?"

Young children may not catch on right away initially, and it may take a little practice, but they'll eventually catch on and begin to develop a deeper understanding of what they are reading. This is a very important step in helping your child develop reading comprehension. Of course, don't do this every single time you read, or your child will quickly get bored and lose interest. Do it at random times, and do not over do it.

Help your child to read with a wide variety of books and keep reading fun - There is no shortage of children books, and you should always have a wide variety of children books, stories, and rhymes available. Reading is a lot of fun, for both parents and children. Read to your child using drama and excitement, and use different voices. Give your child the option of choosing what book they want you to read, instead of picking the book you want to read to your child.

When reading to your child, read slowly, and point to the words that you are reading to help the child make a connection between the word your are saying and the word you are reading. Always remember that reading should be a fun and enjoyable activity for your children, and it should never feel like a "chore" for them.

Best Way to Teach Kids to Read

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com

What's the best way to teach children to read? According to the National Reading Panel, "teaching children to manipulate phonemes in words was highly effective under a variety of teaching conditions with a variety of learners across a range of grade and age levels and that teaching phonemic awareness to children significantly improves their reading more than instruction that lacks any attention to Phonemic Awareness." [1] This is a statement made by the National Reading Panel (NRP) in their report titled "TEACHING CHILDREN TO READ: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction."

Phonemic Awareness instruction was selected for review by the NRP in their report because studies have identified phonemic awareness and letter knowledge as two of the best predictors of how well children will learn to read in their first 2 years of entering school. There is strong Scientific evidence to suggest that phonemic awareness instructions are an important part in helping children develop reading skills.

One study discussed the presence of phonemic awareness in Austrian children aged 6 to 7 that were unable to read when first entering school. This study found that many children had not one correct response in their test of a simple vowel substitution task. However, a few children who exhibited high phonemic awareness scored close to perfect on this same task. The study further stated that "there was a specific predictive relationship between initial phonemic awareness differences and success in learning to read and to spell." Even more importantly, the study indicated that it was phonemic awareness abilities, and not IQ, that predicted the accuracy of reading and spelling at the end of grade one. Children with high phonemic awareness at the beginning of grade one had high reading and spelling achievements at the end of grade one, compared to some children with low phonemic awareness who had difficulties learning to read and spell. [2]

In the National Reading Panel report, they also determined that the beneficial effects of phonemic awareness on reading lasts well beyond the period of training. While phonemic awareness instructions are proven to significantly help children learn reading, it is not a complete reading program. What it does, is provide children with a foundational knowledge base of the alphabet language. The NRP analysis also showed that phonics instructions produces significant benefits for students from kindergarten through grade 6, and is also helpful for children with learning to read difficulties.

Children who are taught with phonics and phonemic awareness instructions are consistently able to decode, read, and spell, and even demonstrated significant improvement in their ability to comprehend text. Even older children who receive these similar teachings improved their ability to decode and spell. The NRP made a key statement saying that "conventional wisdom has suggested that kindergarten students might not be ready for phonics instruction, this assumption was not supported by the data. The effects of systematic early phonics instruction were significant and substantial in kindergarten and the 1st grade, indicating that systematic phonics programs should be implemented at those age and grade levels."

However, I would like to further expand on that by saying that children as young as two years old can learn to read through phonics and phonemic awareness instructions. If a young child can speak, then they should be able to learn to read, even if they are as young as two years old. In fact, I have proven this with my own children. We started teaching our daughter at 2 years and 8months, and she was very capable at reading by the time she was just 2 years and 11 months old.

3 Tips to Teach Your child How to Read

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com

Learning to read at a young age is important for the development of the child. It helps them develop a better understand of their surroundings, allows them to gather information from printed materials, and provides them with a wonderful source of entertainment when they read stories and rhymes. Children develop at different rates, and some children will develop reading skills quicker than other children; however, what's important is that as the parent, you are keenly aware of your child's maturity and reading level to provide them with appropriate books and activities to help them improve.

As parents, you are the most important teacher for your children. You will introduce your child to books and reading. Below we have some tips to help you teach your child to read.

Teach Your Child How to Read Tip #1

Teach your child alphabet letters and sounds at the same time. Studies have shown that children learn best when they are taught the letter names and letter sounds at the same time. In one study, 58 preschool children were randomly assigned to receive instructions in letter names and sounds, letter sound only, or numbers (control group). The results of this study are consistent with past research results in that it found children receiving letter name and sound instruction were most likely to learn the sounds of letters whose names included cues to their sounds. [1]

When teaching your child the letter sounds, have them slowly trace the letter, while saying the sound of the letter at the same time. For example, if you were teaching your child the letter "A", you would say:

"The letter A makes the /A/ (ah) sound."

Then have your child say the /A/ sound while tracing the letter with his or her index finger.

Teaching a Child How to Read Tip #2

When teaching your child to read, always emphasize with them that the proper reading order should be from left to right, and top to bottom. To adults, this may seem so basic that anyone should know it. However, our children are not born with the knowledge that printed text should be read from left to right and top to bottom, and this is why you'll sometimes see children reading from right to left instead - because they were never explicitly taught to read from left to right. When teaching your child how to read, always emphasize this point with them.

Teach Your Child How to Read Tip #3

Teach final consonant blends first. Teaching words such "at" and "and" can lead your child directly to learning words that rhyme with these. For example, for "at", you can have:

Lat
Pat
Mat
Cat
Sat
Bat
Spat
Chat

For "and", you can have these rhyming words:

Sand
Band
Land
Hand
Stand
Bland
Brand
Grand
and so on...

You can start teaching blends once your child has learned the sounds of some consonants and short vowel sounds. You don't need to wait until your child has mastered the sounds of all the letters before teaching blends.

Learning to read is a long process, but it doesn't have to be a difficult process. Broken down into intuitive and logical steps, a child as young as two years old can learn to read, and older children can accomplish even more.

Puisi "Kerendahan Hati" oleh Taufik Ismail

Kalau engkau tak mampu menjadi beringin
Yang tegak di puncak bukit
Jadilah belukar, tetapi belukar yang baik,
Yang tumbuh di tepi danau

Kalau kamu tak sanggup menjadi belukar,
Jadilah saja rumput, tetapi rumput yang
Memperkuat tanggul pinggiran jalan

Kalau engkau tak mampu menjadi jalan raya
Jadilah saja jalan kecil,
Tetapi jalan setapak yang
Membawa orang ke mata air

Tidaklah semua menjadi kapten
Tentu harus ada awak kapalnya….
Bukan besar kecilnya tugas yang menjadikan tinggi
Rendahnya nilai dirimu
Jadilah saja dirimu….
Sebaik-baiknya dari dirimu sendiri

-Taufik Ismail-

Sumber-sumber Kebahagian

YuudiHome - Dikutip dari fanspage facebook Dunia Islam berikut adalah

SUMBER-SUMBER KEBAHAGIAAN

1. AMAL SHALIH
"Barangsiapa mengerjakan amal salih, baik laki-laki maupun perempuan dalam keadaan beriman, maka sesungguhnya akan Kami berikan kepadanya kehidupan yang baik" (QS. An-Nahl: 97)

2. ISTRI SHALIHAH
"Ya Rabb kami, anugerahkanlah kepada kami istri-istri dan keturunan kami sebagai penyenang hati (kami) dan jadikan kami imam bagi orang-orang yang bertakwa" (QS. Al-Furqan: 74)

3. RUMAH YANG LUAS
Dalam sebuah hadits Rasulullah berdoa: "Ya Allah, jadikan rumah kami terasa luas"

4. PENGHASILAN YANG BAIK
Dalam sebuah hadits disebutkan: "Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Baik dan Dia tidak menerima kecuali yang baik-baik"

5. AKHLAK YANG BAIK DAN PENUH KASIH KEPADA SESAMA
"Dan, Dia menjadikan aku seorang yang diberkahi di mana saja aku berada" (QS. Maryam: 31)

6. TERHINDAR DARI HIMPITAN UTANG DAN SIFAT BOROS
"Dan, orang-orang yang apabila membelanjakan (harta) mereka berlebihan dan tidak (pula) kikir" (QS. Al-Furqan: 67)

Sendi kebahagiaan adalah HATI yang selalu BERSYUKUR, LIDAH yang terus BERDZIKIR dan TUBUH yang senantiasa BERSABAR..

Tanda-tanda Datangnya Malam Lailatul Qodar

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TANDA-TANDA DATANGNYA MALAM LAILATUL QODAR

Bismillahir-Rahmaanir-Rahim ...

Bagaimanakah tanda datangnya malam Lailatul Qadar yang benar berkenaan dengan malam yang mulia ini? Nabi shallallahu’alaihi wassalam pernah mengabarkan kita di beberapa sabda beliau tentang Tanda-tanda Malam Lailatul Qadar, yaitu: ...

1. Udara dan suasana pagi yang tenang ...

Ibnu Abbas radliyallahu’anhu berkata: Rasulullah shallahu’alaihi wa sallam bersabda:

“Lailatul qadar adalah malam tentram dan tenang, tidak terlalu panas dan tidak pula terlalu dingin, esok paginya sang surya terbit dengan sinar lemah berwarna merah” (Hadist hasan)

2. Cahaya mentari lemah, cerah tak bersinar kuat keesokannya ..

Dari Ubay bin Ka’ab radliyallahu’anhu, bahwasanya Rasulullah shallahu’alaihi wa sallam bersabda:

“Keesokan hari malam lailatul qadar matahari terbit hingga tinggi tanpa sinar bak nampan” (HR Muslim)

3. Terkadang terbawa dalam mimpi ...

Seperti yang terkadang dialami oleh sebagian sahabat Nabi radliyallahu’anhum.

4. Bulan nampak separuh bulatan ...

Abu Hurairoh radliyallahu’anhu pernah bertutur: Kami pernah berdiskusi tentang lailatul qadar di sisi Rasulullah shallahu’alaihi wa sallam, beliau berkata :

“Siapakah dari kalian yang masih ingat tatkala bulan muncul, yang berukuran separuh nampan.” (HR. Muslim)

5. Suasana malam itu terasa sejuk dan nyaman ...

Malam yang terang, tidak panas, tidak dingin, tidak ada awan, tidak hujan, tidak ada angin kencang dan tidak ada yang dilempar pada malam itu dengan bintang (lemparan meteor bagi setan)

Sebagaimana sebuah hadits, dari Watsilah bin al-Asqo’ dari Rasulullah shallallahu’alaihi wa sallam :

“Lailatul qadar adalah malam yang terang, tidak panas, tidak dingin, tidak ada awan, tidak hujan, tidak ada angin kencang dan tidak ada yang dilempar pada malam itu dengan bintang (lemparan meteor bagi setan)” (HR. at-Thobroni dalam al-Mu’jam al-Kabir 22/59 dengan sanad hasan)

6. Hati menjadi tenang saat ibadah di malam itu ...

Orang yang beribadah pada malam tersebut merasakan lezatnya ibadah, ketenangan hati dan kenikmatan bermunajat kepada Rabb-nya tidak seperti malam-malam lainnya.

Wallahu a'lam bishshawab, ..

—————-
(**Referensi :

- Majalah Adz-Dzakiroh edisi khusus Ramadhan-Syawal 1429 Hal. 27-28.
- 30 Tema Pilihan Kultum Romadhon Berdasarkan al-Qur’an dan as-Sunnah oleh Abu Bakr Muhammad Lalu al-Atsari, hal. 162-163 (Silahkan merujuk ke buku ini untuk mengambil faidah yang lebih banyak).

~ o ~

Semoga bermanfaat dan Penuh Kebarokahan dari Allah ...

4 Cara Allah Beri Rezeki Kepada Makhluk-Nya

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4 Cara Allah beri rezeki kpd makhluk-Nya.

1. REZEKI TINGKAT PERTAMA (YANG DIJAMIN OLEH ALLAH)
"Tidak suatu binatangpun (termasuk manusia) yg bergerak di atas bumi ini yang tidak dijamin oleh Allah rezekinya"(QS. 11: 6)

Artinya Allah akan berikan kesehatan, makan, minum untuk seluruh makhluk hidup di dunia ini. Ini rezeki dasar yg terendah.

2. REZEKI TINGKAT KEDUA
"Tidaklah manusia mendapat apa2, kecuali apa yg telah dikerjakannya"(QS. 53: 39)

Allah akan berikan rezeki sesuai dgn apa yang dikerjakannya. Jika ia kerja dua jam, dapatlah hasil yg dua jam. Jika kerja lebih lama, lebih rajin, lebih berilmu, lebih sungguh2, ia akan dapat lebih banyak. Tdk pandang dia itu muslim atau bukan.

3. REZEKI TINGKAT KETIGA
“... Sesungguhnya jika kamu bersyukur, pasti Kami akan menambah (nikmat) kepadamu, jika kamu mengingkari (nikmat-Ku), maka sesungguhnya azab-Ku sangat pedih."(QS. 14: 7)

Inilah rezeki yg disayang Allah. Orang2 yg pandai bersyukur akan dapat merasakan kasih sayang Allah dan mendapat rezeki yang lebih banyak. Itulah Janji Allah! Orang yg pandai bersyukurlah yg dpt hidup bahagia, sejahtera dan tentram. Usahanya akan sangat sukses, karena Allah tambahkan selalu.

4. REZEKI KE EMPAT (UNTUK ORANG2 BERIMAN DAN BERTAQWA)
".... Barangsiapa yg bertaqwa kpd Allah niscaya Dia akan mengadakan baginya jalan keluar. Dan memberinya rezki dari arah yang tiada disangka2nya. Dan barangsiapa yang bertawakkal kepada Allah niscaya Allah akan mencukupkan (keperluan) nya. Sesungguhnya Allah melaksanakan urusan (yang dikehendaki) Nya. Sesungguhnya Allah telah mengadakan ketentuan bagi tiap2 sesuatu.”(QS. Ath-Thalaq/65:2-3)

Peringkat rezeki yang ke empat ini adalah rezeki yang istimewa, tidak semua orang bisa meraihnya. Orang istimewa ini (muttaqun) adalah orang yang benar2 dicintai dan dipercaya oleh Allah untuk memakmurkan atau mengatur kekayaan Allah di bumi ini.

7 Bacaan Pembuka Rezeki

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7 BACAAN PEMBUKA PINTU REZEKI

1. Memperbanyak Membaca"LahawlaWala Quwwata Illa billah" Barang siapa yang lambat datang rezekinya hendaklah banyak mengucapkan "La hawla Wala Quwwata Illa billah." (HR. At-Tabrani)

2. Membaca "La Ilaha Illallahul Malikul Haqqul Mubin" Barang siapa setiap hari membaca La ilaha illallahul malikul haqqul mubin maka bacaan itu akan menjadi keamanan dari kefakiran dan menjadi penenteram dari rasa takut dalam kubur. (HR. Abu Nu’aim dan Ad Dailami)

3. Melanggengkan Ber-Istighfar"Barang siapa melanggengkan beristighfar niscaya Allah SWT akan mengeluarkan dia dari segala kesusahan dan memberikan rezki dari arah yang tidak diduga²." (HR. Ahmad, Abu Dawud dan Ibnu Majjah)

4. Membaca Surat Al-Ikhlas"Barangsiapa mmbaca Surat Al-Ikhlas ketika masuk rumah maka berkah bacaan menghilangkan kefakiran dari penghuni rumah dan tetangganya." (HR. At-Tabrani)

5. Membaca Surat Al-Waqiah"Barangsiapa membaca surat Al-Waqiah setiap malam, maka tidak akan ditimpa kesempitan hidup." (HR. Al-Baihaqi dalam Syu’ab Al Iman)

6. Memperbanyak Shalawat Ata Nabi "Ubay Bin Ka’ab meriwayatkan, bila telah berlalu sepertiga malam, Rasulullah Salallahu’alaihiwassalam berdiri seraya bersabda: "Wahai Manusia Berdzikirlah Mengingat Allah, berdzikirlah mengingat Allah. Akan datang tiupan (sangkakala kiamat) pertama, kemudian diiringi tiupan kedua. Akan datang kematian dan segala kesulitan didalamnya."

7. "Membaca Subhanallah wabihamdihi Subhanallahil adziim. Dari setiap kalimat itu seorang malaikat yang bertasbih kepada Allah Ta’ala sampai hari kiamat yang pahala tasbihnya itu diberikan untukmu." (HR. Al-Mustagfiri dalam Ad-Da’awat)

Like → Bagikan semoga dilimpahkan rejeki yang barokah.. Aamiin..

Bapak Penjual Amplop di Era Teknologi

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KISAH NYATA : BAPAK PENJUAL AMPLOP




Mungkin artikel ini adalah salah satu kisah nyata tentang potret kehidupan ekonomi di negara kita ini , Sobat Herlan kisah ini saya kutip dari sebuah halaman di Facebook dan memang kisah ini nyata adanya , karena kejadian ini sumbernya di bandung serta kebetulan saya sendiri tinggal di bandung jadi ingin membuktikan cerita ini dengan menuju ke sumber lokasi tempat tokoh cerita ini di sebutkan dan ternyata Memang True Story .

Bila sobat Herlan Blog yng kebetulan ada di bandung sobat bisa mampir ke Daerah Kampus ITB ( JL Ganesha ) tiap hari jumat bapa yng ada di dalam tokoh ini ada .

Setiap menuju ke Masjid Salman ITB untuk shalat Jumat, saya selalu melihat seorang bapak tua yang duduk terpekur di depan dagangannya. Dia menjual kertas amplop yang sudah dibungkus di dalam plastik. Sepintas di lihat, barang jualannya itu terasa “aneh” di antara pedagang lain yang memenuhi pasar kaget di seputaran Jalan Ganesha setiap hari Jumat.

Pedagang di pasar kaget umumnya berjualan makanan, pakaian, DVD bajakan, barang mainan anak, sepatu dan barang-barang asesori lainnya. Tentu agak aneh dia “nyempil” sendiri menjual amplop, barang yang tidak terlalu dibutuhkan pada zaman yang serba elektronis seperti saat ini. Masa kejayaan pengiriman surat secara konvensional sudah berlalu, namun bapak itu tetap menjual amplop. Mungkin bapak itu tidak mengikuti perkembangan zaman, apalagi perkembangan teknologi informasi yang serba cepat dan instan, sehingga dia pikir masih ada orang yang membutuhkan amplop untuk berkirim surat.

Kehadiran bapak tua dengan dagangannya yang tidak laku-laku itu menimbulkan rasa iba. Siapa sih yang mau membeli amplopnya itu? Tidak satupun orang yang lewat menuju masjid tertarik untuk membelinya. Lalu lalang orang yang bergegas menuju masjid Salman seolah tidak mempedulikan kehadiran bapak tua itu.

Kemarin ketika hendak shalat Jumat di Salman saya melihat bapak tua itu lagi sedang duduk terpekur. Saya sudah berjanji akan membeli amplopnya itu usai shalat, meskipun sebenarnya saya tidak terlalu membutuhkan benda tersebut. Yach, sekedar ingin membantu bapak itu melariskan dagangannya. Seusai shalat Jumat dan hendak kembali ke kantor, saya menghampiri bapak tadi. Saya tanya berapa harga amplopnya dalam satu bungkusan plastik itu. “Seribu”, jawabnya dengan suara lirih.

Astaga, harga sebungkus amplop yang isinnya sepuluh lembar itu hanya seribu rupiah? Uang sebesar itu hanya cukup untuk membeli dua gorengan bala-bala pada pedagang gorengan di dekatnya. Uang seribu rupiah yang tidak terlalu berarti bagi kita, tetapi bagi bapak tua itu sangatlah berarti. Saya tercekat dan berusaha menahan air mata keharuan mendengar harga yang sangat murah itu. “Saya beli ya pak, sepuluh bungkus”, kata saya.

Bapak itu terlihat gembira karena saya membeli amplopnya dalam jumlah banyak. Dia memasukkan sepuluh bungkus amplop yang isinya sepuluh lembar per bungkusnya ke dalam bekas kotak amplop. Tangannya terlihat bergetar ketika memasukkan bungkusan amplop ke dalam kotak.

Saya bertanya kembali kenapa dia menjual amplop semurah itu. Padahal kalau kita membeli amplop di warung tidak mungkin dapat seratus rupiah satu. Dengan uang seribu mungkin hanya dapat lima buah amplop. Bapak itu menunjukkan kepada saya lembar kwitansi pembelian amplop di toko grosir. Tertulis di kwitansi itu nota pembelian 10 bungkus amplop surat senilai Rp 7.500. “Bapak cuma ambil sedikit”, lirihnya. Jadi, dia hanya mengambil keuntungan Rp 250 untuk satu bungkus amplop yang isinya 10 lembar itu.

Saya jadi terharu mendengar jawaban jujur si bapak tua. Jika pedagang nakal ‘menipu’ harga dengan menaikkan harga jual sehingga keuntungan berlipat-lipat, bapak tua itu hanya mengambil keuntungan yang tidak seberapa. Andaipun terjual sepuluh bungkus amplop saja keuntungannya tidak sampai untuk membeli nasi bungkus di pinggir jalan. Siapalah orang yang mau membeli amplop banyak-banyak pada zaman sekarang? Dalam sehari belum tentu laku sepuluh bungkus saja, apalagi untuk dua puluh bungkus amplop agar dapat membeli nasi.

Setelah selesai saya bayar Rp 10.000 untuk sepuluh bungkus amplop, saya kembali menuju kantor. Tidak lupa saya selipkan sedikit uang lebih buat bapak tua itu untuk membeli makan siang. Si bapak tua menerima uang itu dengan tangan bergetar sambil mengucapkan terima kasih dengan suara hampir menangis.

Saya segera bergegas pergi meninggalkannya karena mata ini sudah tidak tahan untuk meluruhkan air mata. Sambil berjalan saya teringat status seorang teman di facebook yang bunyinya begini : “bapak-bapak tua menjajakan barang dagangan yang tak laku-laku, ibu-ibu tua yang duduk tepekur di depan warungnya yang selalu sepi. Carilah alasan-alasan untuk membeli barang-barang dari mereka, meski kita tidak membutuhkannya saat ini. Jangan selalu beli barang di mal-mal dan toko-toko yang nyaman dan lengkap..”.

Si bapak tua penjual amplop adalah salah satu dari mereka, yaitu para pedagang kaki lima yang barangnya tidak laku-laku. Cara paling mudah dan sederhana untuk membantu mereka adalah bukan memberi mereka uang, tetapi belilah jualan mereka atau pakailah jasa mereka. Meskipun barang-barang yang dijual oleh mereka sedikit lebih mahal daripada harga di mal dan toko, tetapi dengan membeli dagangan mereka semoga saja perbuatan baik kita dapat berbuah menjadi suatu akibat yang baik pula, karena secara tidak langsung kita telah membantu kelangsungan usaha dan hidup mereka.

Dalam pandangan saya bapak tua itu lebih terhormat daripada pengemis yang berkeliaran di masjid Salman, meminta-minta kepada orang yang lewat. Para pengemis itu mengerahkan anak-anak untuk memancing iba para pejalan kaki. Tetapi si bapak tua tidak mau mengemis, ia tetap kukuh berjualan amplop yang keuntungannya tidak seberapa itu.

Di kantor saya amati lagi bungkusan amplop yang saya beli dari si bapak tua tadi. Mungkin benar saya tidak terlalu membutuhkan amplop surat itu saat ini, tetapi uang sepuluh ribu yang saya keluarkan tadi sangat dibutuhkan si bapak tua.

Kotak amplop yang berisi 10 bungkus amplop tadi saya simpan di sudut meja kerja. Siapa tahu nanti saya akan memerlukannya. Mungkin pada hari Jumat pekan-pekan selanjutnya saya akan melihat si bapak tua berjualan kembali di sana, duduk melamun di depan dagangannya yang tak laku-laku.



Oleh : Rinaldi Munir, Bandung

20 Sunnah Rasul yang Sering Terlupakan

YuudiHome - Dikutip dari fanspage facebook Cinta Nabi Muhammad SAW. berikut adalah

" 20 SUNNAH RASUL YANG SERING KITA ABAIKAN "

1. Mendahulukan kaki Kanan Saat Memakai Sandal Dan Kaki Kiri Saat Melepasnya.

2. Menjaga Dan Memelihara Wudhu' walaupun tidak sedang mengerjakan sholat.

3. Bersiwak (Menggosok Gigi dengan Kayu Siwak).

4. Shalat Istikharah

5. Berkumur-Kumur Dan Menghirup Air dengan Hidung Dalam Satu Cidukan Telapak Tangan Ketika Berwudhu'

6. Berwudhu Sebelum Tidur Dan Tidur Dengan Posisi Miring Ke Kanan.

7. Mendahulukan Berbuka Puasa Dengan Makanan Ringan dan yang manis. Dianjurkan kalau ada dengan makan buah kurma.

8. Sujud Syukur Saat Mendapatkan Nikmat Atau Terhindar Dari Bencana atau musibah.

9. Tidak suka Begadang Dan Segera Tidur setelah Selesai Shalat Isya'

10. Mengikuti Bacaan Muadzin (adzan)

11. Berlomba-Lomba Untuk MengumandangkanAdzan, Bersegera Menunaikan Shalat, Serta Berupaya Untuk Mendapatkan Shaf Pertama.

12. Meminta Izin Tiga Kali Ketika Bertamu (dengan ucapan Assalamu'alaikum)

13. Mengibaskan Seprei Saat Hendak Tidur (dengan maksud agar tempat tidur kita tidak kotor)

14. Meruqyah Diri Dan Keluarga

15. Berdoa Saat Memakai Pakaian Baru

16. Mengucapkan Salam Kepada Semua Orang Islam Termasuk Anak Kecil (jika berpapasan atau bertemu)

17. Berwudhu' Sebelum Mandi Besar (Mandi Junub)

18. Membaca ‘Aamiin’ Dengan Suara Keras Saat Menjadi Makmum

19. Membaca dzikir Setelah Shalat

20. Membuat Pembatas (ada tenggang waktu) Saat Sedang Shalat Fardhu Atau Shalat Sunnah

Semoga catatan singkat ini bisa bermanfaat bagi kita semua. Jangan lupa SHARE juga untuk para sahabat.

Ya Allah..
Jadikanlah kami orang-orang yang senantiasa mengikuti sunnah rasul-Mu dan mengikuti jejaknya.
Kumpulkanlah kami beserta kedua orang tua kami bersama Rasulullah di surga,Aamiin..

Menangis Dapat Memadamkan Api Neraka

YuudiHome - Dikutip dari Dunia Islam berikut adalah statusnya tentang

MENANGIS MEMADAMKAN API NERAKA...???

Dua ilmuwan pernah melakukan penelitian disertasi tentang air mata. Kedua peneliti tersebut berasal dari Jerman dan Amerika Serikat.

Hasil penelitian kedua peneliti itu menyimpulkan bahwa air mata yang keluar karena tepercik bawang atau cabe ‘‘BARBEDA’’ dengan air mata yang mengalir karena kecewa dan sedih.

Air mata yang keluar karena tepercik bawang atau cabe ternyata tidak mengandung zat yang berbahaya.

Sedangkan, air mata yang mengalir karena rasa kecewa atau sedih disimpulkan mengandung toksin, atau racun.

Kedua peneliti itu pun merekomendasikan agar orang² yang mengalami rasa kecewa dan sedih lebih baik menumpahkan air matanya. Sebab, jika air mata kesedihan atau kekecewaan itu tidak dikeluarkan, akan berdampak buruk bagi kesehatan lambung.

Menangis itu indah, sehat, dan simbol kejujuran. Pada saat yang tepat, menangislah sepuas²nya dan nikmatilah karena tidak selamanya orang bisa menangis.

Orang² yang suka menangis sering kali dilabeli sebagai orang cengeng. Cengeng terhadap Sang Khalik adalah positif dan cengeng terhadap makhluk adalah negatif.

Orang² yang gampang berderai air matanya ketika terharu mengingat dan merindukan Tuhannya, air mata itu akan melicinkannya menembus surga. Air mata yang tumpah karena menangisi dosa masa masa lalu akan memadamkan api neraka.

Hal ini sesuai dengan hadis Nabi Muhammad SAW; ‘‘Ada mata yang diharamkan masuk neraka, yaitu mata yang tidak tidur semalaman dalam perjuangan fisabilillah dan mata yang menangis karena takut kepada Allah SWT...!!!’’ (HR. Muslim)

Seorang sufi pernah mengatakan, jika seseorang tidak pernah menangis, dikhawatirkan hatinya gersang. Salah satu kebiasaan para sufi ialah menangis. Beberapa sufi mata dan mukanya menjadi cacat karena air mata yang selalu berderai.

Tuhan memuji orang menangis; ‘‘Dan, mereka menyungkurkan wajah sambil menangis dan mereka bertambah khusyuk...!!!’’ (QS Al-Isra' [17]:109).

Nabi Muhammad SAW bersabda; ‘‘Jika kalian hendak selamat, jagalah lidahmu dan tangisilah dosa²mu...!!!’’ (HR. Muslim)

Ciri² orang yang beruntung ialah;

1. Ketika mereka hadir di bumi langsung menangis, sementara orang² di sekitarnya tertawa dengan penuh kegembiraan.

2. Jika meninggal dunia ia tersenyum, sementara orang² di sekitarnya menangis karena sedih ditinggalkan.

7 Sifat Alami Wanita

YuudiHome - Dikutip dari fanspage facebook Dunia Islam berikut adalah

7 SIFAT ALAMI WANITA

Gak Baca Nyesel..

1. Wanita Suka Di Dengarkan.
Jadi kalau dia sedang marah, dengarkan
saja. Kalau diladeni, tujuh hari tujuh malam
dia tahan bertengkar !

2. Wanita Suka Kelembutan.
Jangan pernah sekali-kali kasar pada
wanita, karena wanita bisa menjadi lebih
kasar.

3. Wanita Suka Di Beri Kejutan-Kejutan­­ Kecil.
Tidak harus memberi emas berlian pada
sang isteri, cukup kecupan mesra di kening
tapi penuh cinta nan lembut.

4. Sentuhlah Wanita Dengan Kasih Yang Sesungguhnya.
Kasih ini akan membuat wanita
memberikan cinta yang lebih.

5. Berikan Perhatian Setiap Saat.
Ketika tidur pun sebenarnya wanita ingin
diperhatikan. Ketersipuannya menandakan
rasa senangnya diperhatikan.

6. Kirim Selalu Kata-Kata Mesra Yang Menggoda.
Walau kata-kata cinta terasa biasa, tidak
bagi wanita. Kata-kata “Aku kangen kamu
sayang”, atau “Sehari tanpa mendengar
suaramu, aku bisa gila”, atau “Hanya kamu yang membuatku tergila-gila”, sudah cukup
membuat hati wanita melambung ke langit
tujuh. Menggetarkan relung-relung hati dan
jiwanya. (Ayo ngaku :P)

7. Wanita Memang Unik Dan Spesial.
Sayangi dia, dan Anda akan mendapatkan
ribuan kali lipat cintanya.
 

Hal-hal Yang Paling Harus Diketahui Dalam Hidup

 YuudiHome - Dikutip dari fanspage facebook Kitab Suci Al-Qur'an (silakan klik link tersebut untuk menyukai) berikut adalah hal-hal yang paling harus diketahui dalam hidup:

MANUSIA yang paling berbahaya adalah MUNAFIK.

SENJATA yang paling berbahaya adalah LIDAH.

KEBIASAAN yang paling merusak adalah MEREMEHKAN DOSA KECIL.

PERASAAN yang paling tidak berguna adalah DENGKI.

KEGAGALAN yang paling melumpuhkan adalah MALAS.

KONDISI yang terburuk adalah LEMAHNYA­ IMAN.

PAKAIAN yang paling indah di dunia adalah AKHLAK YANG MULIA.

SUKACITA yang terbesar adalah TERKABULNYA DOA.

PEKERJAAN yang paling memuaskan adalah AMAL YANG IKHLAS.

KOMPUTER yang paling hebat adalah AKAL.

ENERGI yang terbesar adalah IMAN YANG KUAT.

OBAT TIDUR yang paling mujarab adalah HATI YANG TENANG.

DUA KATA yang penuh kekuatan adalah SAYA BISA.

ASET yang TERBESAR adalah AMAL SHLEH.

ALAT KOMUNIKASI yang paling hebat adalah DOA.

7 Keajaiban Setelah Menangis

YuudiHome - Dikutip dari fanspage facebook Dunia Islam berikut adalah

7 KEAJAIBAN Setelah MENANGIS

Siapa bilang menangis tak ada gunanya? Kelamaan menangis memang bisa bikin mata merah dan bengkak. Tapi jangan salah, menangis dan mengeluarkan air mata ternyata bisa jadi obat ajaib yang berguna bagi kesehatan tubuh dan pikiran. Apa saja?

Dikutip dari Beliefnet, ini dia 7 keajaiban yang bisa Anda dapatkan setelah menangis dan berair mata.

1. Membantu penglihatan

Air mata ternyata membantu penglihatan seseorang, jadi bukan hanya mata itu sendiri. Cairan yang keluar dari mata dapat mencegah dehidrasi pada membran mata yang bisa membuat penglihatan menjadi kabur.

2. Membunuh bakteri
Tak perlu obat tetes mata, cukup air mata yang berfungsi sebagai antibakteri alami. Di dalam air mata terkandung cairan yang disebut dengan lisozom yang dapat membunuh sekitar 90-95 persen bakteri-bakteriyang tertinggal dari keyboard komputer, pegangan tangga, bersin dan tempat-tempat yang mengandung bakteri, hanya dalam 5 menit.

3. Meningkatkan mood

Seseorang yang menangis bisa menurunkan level depresi karena dengan menangis, mood seseorang akan terangkat kembali. Air mata yang dihasilkan dari tipe menangis karena emosi mengandung 24 persen protein albumin yang berguna dalam meregulasi sistem metabolisme tubuh dibanding air mata yang dihasilkan dari iritasi mata.

4. Mengeluarkan racun
Seorang ahli biokimia, William Frey telah melakukan beberapa studi tentang air mata dan menemukan bahwa air mata yang keluar dari hasil menangis karena emosional ternyata mengandung racun.

Tapi jangan salah, keluarnya air mata yang beracun itu menandakan bahwa ia membawa racun dari dalam tubuh dan mengeluarkannyalewat mata.

5. Mengurangi stres
Bagaimana menangis bisa mengurangi stres? Air mata ternyata juga mengeluarkan hormon stres yang terdapat dalam tubuh yaitu endorphin leucine-enkaphalin dan prolactin.

Selain menurunkan level stres, air mata juga membantu melawan penyakit-penyak­­­it yang disebabkan oleh stres seperti tekanan darah tinggi.

6. Membangun komunitas
Selain baik untuk kesehatan fisik, menangis juga bisa membantu seseorang membangun sebuah komunitas. Biasanya seseorang menangis setelah menceritakan masalahnya di depan teman-temannya atau seseorang yang bisa memberikan dukungan, dan hal ini bisa meningkatkan kemampuan berkomunikasi dan juga bersosialisasi.

7. Melegakan perasaan
Semua orang rasanya merasa demikian. Meskipun Anda didera berbagai macam masalah dan cobaan, namun setelah menangis biasanya akan muncul perasaan lega.

Setelah menangis, sistem limbik, otak dan jantung akan menjadi lancar, dan hal itu membuat seseorang merasa lebih baik dan lega. Keluarkanlah masalah di pikiranmu lewat menangis, jangan dipendam karena Anda bisa menangis meledak-ledak.
Jadi, tidak apa-apa kalau Anda menangis sesekali.

6 Kunci Mandapatkan Ketenangan Hati

YuudiHome - Dikutip dari fanspage facebook Cinta Nabi Muhammad SAW. berikut adalah

" 6 KUNCI MENDAPAT KETENANGAN HATI "

Sahabatku ada 6 tips mudah untuk mendapatkan ketenangan hati semoga bermanfaat :

1. Jangan tergantung terhadap orang lain, bersikaplah mandiri dan percaya akan kemampuan yang kita miliki..

2. Jangan berburuk sangka, berfikirlah positif akan membawa pada suatu yang bermanfaat..

3. Jangan mengingat penyesalan yg tdk pantas di sesali di masa lalu, hidup itu mudah, buatlah dalam suatu perbuatan kita dengan keputusan dan jadikan masa lalu menjadi sebuah pelajaran untuk menjadi yang lebih baik..

4. Jangan pernah menyimpan dendam di hati, dendam itu di ibaratkan sebagai racun dalam hati kita, jauhi itu..

5. Jauhi sifat terburu-buru, aset dalam kehidupan bukan harta tapi waktu.maka pergunakan waktu dengan baik..

6. Jangan khawatir dengan hari esok, ketuklah pintu dan pintu pun akan terbuka,Ingatlah ALLAH,ALLAH pun akan ingat pada kita..

Keajaiban Hajar Aswad

 YuudiHome - Di kutip dari facebook fanspagnya Dunia Islam

Hajar Aswad merupakan Super Konduktor

Encyclopedia Americana menulis: “Sekiranya orang-orang Islam berhenti melaksanakan thawaf ataupun sholat di muka bumi ini, niscaya akan terhentilah perputaran bumi kita ini, karena rotasi dari super konduktor yang berpusat di Hajar Aswad, tidak lagi memencarkan gelombang elektromagnetik.

Menurut hasil penelitian dari 15 Universitas: Menunjukkan Hajar Aswad adalah batu meteor yang mempunyai kadar logam yang sangat tinggi, yaitu 23.000 kali dari baja yang ada.

Beberapa astronot yang mengangkasa melihat suatu sinar yang teramat terang mememancar dari bumi dan setetlah diteliti ternyata bersumber dari Bait Allah atau Ka’bah. Super konduktor itu adalah Hajar Aswad, yang berfungsi bagai mikrofon yang sedang siaran dan jaraknya mencapai ribuan mil jangkauan siarannya.

Prof Lawrence E Yoseph – Fl Whiple menulis: “Sungguh kita berhutang besar kpd orang Islam, sholat, tawaf dan tepat waktu menjaga super konduktor itu.” Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Laa Illaha illallah, Allahu Akbar.

Betapa bergetar hati kita melihat dahsyatnya gerakan thawaf haji dan Umroh.

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