learnread

Learning to Read

One of the greatest challenges that children face is learning to read. Your child is on this very important educational journey. Reading to your child as often, and as enthusiastically, as you can may be the most important lesson in reading that you can offer.

Whenever you read a story to your child, you are reinforcing the idea that spoken words can be represented by print on a page. When you read to your child:
--You can verbalize all the thoughts you normally have as you read. --You might wonder about something that is happening in a story. --You may have to return to a complicated passage to reread it. --Or, you may have to read with someone to help clarify your feelings about it. Show your child these things that skilled readers do.

Invite your child to become involved with reading by being an active listener. Encourage your child: --to tell you about his or her favorite part of the story, --to stop and ask questions --to point to words or illustrations, --and to find things mentioned in the text. Take your child to the library and let him or her select books that match his or her interests.

Finally, make books and other reading materials plentiful in your home and let your child see and hear you reading as much as possible. This is a great way to help your child get bitten by the reading bug. It also will show your child how important reading is.

adapted from Open Court Reading: Home Connection. Columbus, OH: SRA/McGraw Hill, 2002.
by Nancy Ball, 2004