Many research articles indicate that children who are read to early on have a higher achievement and success rate than children who are not. Reading increases a child’s understanding of the world, and provides a variety of experiences. Children also increase their vocabulary by reading a variety of books. When your child is very young, read to him as much as possible. You are not limited to reading board books (or simple books) to a baby. You can read aloud anything you are reading. If you are reading the newspaper, read it aloud. Your baby will hear the rhythm and cadence of the language. You are also exposing your child to vocabulary and different writing styles and genres (informational, fiction, non-fiction…).

As your child develops, start questioning her before, during, and after reading a story. Questioning does not need to be done with every book as it is perfectly acceptable to read a book simply for the pleasure of reading. As your child gains confidence in his own reading skills, don’t give up reading to him. You can read aloud (or with your child) a higher level book than he could read on his own. By reading with him you can discuss and explain unfamiliar vocabulary or phrases.

Enjoy reading with your child. What a wonderful way to discover and share new worlds and adventures! Here are some suggestions to follow as you read to or with your child:

Before you read:

• Go on a picture walk through the book. Flip through the pages of the book as you look at the pictures and find out a little about the story from the pictures.
• Encourage your child to tell you what the story may be about.

While You Read:

• As you read, stop to make predictions about what may come next. Initially, you may have to model the question and answer technique for your child. Or you can give your child some appropriate choices as to what may happen next.
• Note the main characters, what is happening in the story, when the story takes place, where the story happens, whether the story takes place in the present, past or future.

After You Read:

• Ask your child to identify the beginning/middle/end of the story.
• Ask your child to identify the problem in the story and how it was solved.
• What was the funniest part of the story? Why?
• Were there any surprises in the story?
• What was your favorite part of the story? Why?

© Ingrid Weland, Pen to Paper