The first step most families use is reading out loud. Personally I have found that children at all ages love this, from my newborn to my 10 year old. They all gather around for reading time at night, and no matter what type of book I choose, from board books to Hardy Boys, they all sit cuddled next to me listening intently. The practice of reading out loud to our children lets them think about the story, letting their imaginations roam. There are things that reading out loud helps our children to cultivate, such as predicting, inferring, and summarizing. These will be necessary skills for their grade school, Jr. High, and High School experiences. While we read aloud, remember to interact with your listeners. Ask the younger ones what they see in the pictures. Tell them to describe colors, shapes, and objects they recognize. Ask the older ones how the character might feel, or ask what could happen next. The scholarly world would call this the Theory of Mind. You can read more about it here. Research shows the best way to develop this is to read literature as in Huckleberry Finn, Dickens and Jules Verne. lit·er·a·ture (lĭt′ər-ə-cho͝or′, -chər)n.1. The body of written works of a language, period, or culture.2. Imaginative or creative writing, especially of recognized artistic value: "Literature must be an analysis of experience and a synthesis of the findings into a unity" (Rebecca West). Summarizing can be a challenge for some children. They have to organize the story in their minds and then focus on the main idea and supporting details. One suggestion to get them started at a young age is to ask them about their day. You can ask them specific questions if they are having a hard time sorting the words out in their head. Another way to help the younger children get started is to take their favorite fairy tale or story and turn it into a puppet show. Help make the puppets but let the child tell the story in his or her own words. You could also keep a reading journal. Just a quick blurb about what you read together. You should do the writing for the younger children, and the older children can keep it simple or make it a mini book report. Write down the title of the book and who it is about. If the child can put into words what happened remember to keep it to just a few words. For instance: Little Toot is about boats. When they get used to that then they can try to think of more things to write down.
The next step would be having the child read aloud after you. If you know what his favorite book is, then make sure to read it often. He will love it and then will eventually remember some of the words. Even if he get the words wrong in the beginning he will eventually learn them all.
The third step would be the child reading a book to you using only the illustrations. It doesn't need to be the story that was written. Using his imagination and even changing the story each time will help him to become an author himself. Becoming an author can help boost their excitement for reading. Learn how to make small books and ask your child to write a short story. (My favorite way to make a book, though I use a lot less paper and no fabric just card stock, is found here) My oldest child wrote a story about walking her dog to the park; she used short sentences with easy words. Then teach him or her about illustrations and provide paints, crayons and markers. They will love to decorate, try to write words and be creative.
Just a few more tips to helping your child learn to read and love it forever. When choosing books for your child pick books that you loved to read as a child. They will see how excited you get when you read it to them. When you pick well written books that have a plot and aren't too wordy for the age they will eventually learn to pick good books for themselves. Read through the books you chose from the library first to make sure it's a good read.
- When I read to my children I try very hard to let them turn the pages when they're ready. Sometimes they need a little more time to look at the pictures to get a better grasp of the story.
- When you are planning out your bookshelf arrangements make sure to put interesting books where your children can reach them.
- Give books to your children as gifts and awards.
- Don't push them, make sure they feel that they can succeed.
- If a child cannot sit still for reading encourage them to draw pictures of what is being read.
- Show them how much you love to read by reading your books every day!
I hope you found this helpful in your quest to teach your children to read. Just keep reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment