Reading out loud to your child is one of the most
important things you can do for your child’s reading development. It build
prior knowledge, gives you an opportunity to model excellent book and reading
skills, and develops your child’s love of reading. Even as an adult many of
us can still remember being read to by our parents.
For home schooling, you will want to read to them
more than once per day. I would have it be part of your daily lessons, and I
would have it be part of your day when you are the loving parent. Next is a
list of things you can do to be successful. Although the first one is for the
"loving parent" part of your day, I think it also works for your
teaching part. There is nothing that keeps children more on task than
routines.
What you need to do to be successful
- Get into a routine
When there is a routine, both you and the child
will be expecting it, so there wont be a thought of leaving it for the
next night. Choose a comfortable place and time. Try to stick to the
routine as much as possible. Make it a priority.
- Use the time to model good reading skills
While your reading and you come to a word that is
hard to decode, think out loud while solving it. Show them what you do as
a proficient reader.
- Ask questions, predict, clarify, and summarize
while you read.
As a high school reading teacher, I still do this
as I read to my students (actually, I do all these things). Beginning
readers, as well as, struggling readers need to have this reinforcement as
much as possible. This can be done by you, the child or both (I think the
last one is the best).
4. Use your voice
When reading a story, make it interesting by doing
different character’s voices, sounding surprised, or acting sad. Take what
the story gives you and be dramatic
- Help build their vocabulary
While reading, and rereading books, take time to
discuss the vocabulary. Point out words that are new or unfamiliar, and use
some of the strategies below to help solve their meaning.
- Use the story’s (or sentence’s) meaning to
help solve the word. For example:
For my lunch, I ate a bologna sandwich.
This sentence is almost unreadable because of the
word bologna. If you help them use the sentence’s meaning (that it was
for lunch), then they have a better shot of solving it.
- Teach these commonly used prefixes to help build
vocabulary
Un = not unhappy =not happy
Re = again replay = play again
Non = not nonfat = not fat
Just remember that one of the main purposes of
reading aloud is to make reading enjoyable for your child. They should learn
that reading is fun, but if you get too carried away with questioning,
predicting, and clarifying, you could do the opposite.
Picking a Book
When you are going to pick a book to read aloud, you
need to keep some things in mind.
- The book should be one or two years above their
reading level. This will help develop their oral language and vocabulary.
I have a friend that tried Charlotte’s Web with his 3 ½ year old. He
was so surprised by how well his son did listening to it.
- It should be interesting. I try to find books that
are both interesting to the child, but also with me. You can beat a book
that has your interest.
- You should read both fiction and nonfiction. As
you child gets older, most of their reading will move toward nonfiction.
Keep a good balance between the two types.
- Find books that teach your child something
positive. Find strong characters. For girls, find books where the girls in
the book place a positive role. This is not always easy to find.
Book Level
Since you are going to read this book to your child,
the book should be harder than anything they can read. At this early age,
your child’s verbal ability (the age level that they speak at) is
higher than their reading ability, and their listening ability (the age
level that they listen and comprehend what is said to them) is higher than
their verbal ability. Because of this, when they reach about 3-4 years old,
you should be able to read small chapter books such as Charlotte’s Web.
Each night you may have to recap, but they will remember.
Did I say this is a great way to build vocabulary!
How to get books
Of course depending on your money situation, there
are three ways to get books easily; the library, the bookstore, and a mix of
the two. I think the third way is best.
The reason I say the third way is because I believe
your child should own their favorite books. They should have books that they
can call their very own, especially the ones they really enjoy. They certainly
do not need to own them all though, so that’s the library’s function.
Find books of interest.
In my lessons, I use books based around a theme.
Reading books around a theme, gets children interested. This interest can lead
to further study (if it’s nonfiction), or it can lead to reading books by
the same author or genre (such as mystery, drama, or realistic fiction).
Checking out a number of books on the same subject or theme can be a great
motivator for reading. Themes could include friendship or sharing, and
subjects could include dinosaurs or farms.
Fiction and Nonfiction
Children at this age can enjoy both fiction and
nonfiction. These can be mixed within themes, as in my lessons, or randomly.
Remember, most of the reading that your child will do as they get closer to
college, will be nonfiction. Give them the head start and the skills to be
prepared.
Summary
There are six things you should do if you want to be
successful reading to your child.
- Get into a routine.
- Use your time to model proficient reading
skills.
- Ask questions, predict, and clarify with your
child as you read.
- Use your voice to make the story more enjoyable
and dramatic.
- Help build their vocabulary.
- Have fun!
When picking a book to read, you should keep these
tings in mind:
- Find a book that is just above your child’s
reading level.
- Find books with good role models.
- Find books, subjects, or themes that your child
is interested in.
By Joseph Campbell
Copyright 2000 Joseph Campbell
All rights reserved ©
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