Reading Aloud
As parents we are always searching for ways to help our children do their best and be their best. One of the best tools I’ve discovered in my own quest is reading aloud to my child. As I mentioned in a previous post, my son is now eleven years old and yes I continue to read aloud to him. Admittedly it’s not as often as it was when he was a toddler or before he could read on his own but it’s something we still do together. It’s something that I credit for helping him to become a proficient reader. It’s something that I firmly believe has helped him do better in school. It’s something that we as a family truly enjoy doing together.
One of the best things about reading aloud is that it is very inexpensive. All you need is a good book, a comfy place to sit and you are set. The public library is free and so are the books our kids can borrow from the school library. It’s something that every family can afford to do together.
It is very important to consider the material you are going to read aloud to your children. It must be something your child wants to read or have read aloud to them. Chapter books are wonderful read aloud books to start with. I’ve been fortunate to have been given the opportunity to read aloud frequently in classrooms in our school district. I’ve found that chapter books are by far the most popular books I’ve read aloud. Kids are thrilled to find out there are more books based on the characters they just learned about. You can go to Amazon.com to find thousands of chapter books that your children would love to read. There are thousands of book reviews on Amazon and you can read those reviews and decide together what books interest your children most. Some of our family favorites are the Narnia Series, Harry Potter Series and My Weird School Series.
Read above your child’s reading level. Reading experts recommend that adults read a grade or two above a child’s own reading level. Listening comprehension comes before reading comprehension. When my son was in second grade son he might not have been able to easily read a book written for a fourth or fifth grader but he was able to listen to the book and comprehend what he was hearing and process that information. Reading above a child’s own reading level will introduce them to higher vocabulary. That will help them with their own reading skills when they get to that level of reading on their own.
Make sure you have the proper amount of time to read when sitting down with a book but know that you don’t have to read an entire book in one sitting. You don’t want to rush the experience and you don’t want to make reading aloud a chore. You need some balance. Sometimes reading for just 10-15 minutes and continuing another day works better for families. Many of the books we read together actually take us weeks to finish. We’ll often read a chapter or two at a time depending on the size of the book.
You don’t have to stop at reading chapter books. As children grow older and time at home becomes less and less you will need to come up with more creative ideas to find time to continue reading aloud at home. Some families enjoy reading newspaper articles aloud. They are much shorter than actual books and they are just as effective. Reading a newspaper or magazine article can open the door to discussing current events and discussing issues not addressed in fiction. Reading aloud gives families an opportunity to spend time together and have discussions we might otherwise not think to address.
Another way for families to enjoy reading aloud together is by listening to books on tape. We’ve enjoyed listening to several different books on tape. As an adult I still enjoy being read aloud to. You can borrow various titles on tape at the Citizen Library. These are great for long rides in the car. It definitely helps to pass the time and is better than counting license plates or punch buggies!
Reading aloud is proven to increase a child’s vocabulary and help them to become more proficient readers. Sharing this experience with children not only will help them do better in school but will allow families to spend valuable quality time together. You may just find that you enjoy this experience as much as the kids do!
posted by ~Michelle Hertig-Sperl at
4:39 PM
6 Comments:
Whenever the first Harry Potter book came out, I had to practically force my elder son to read it, but then he was hooked. The reading level was beyond my younger son, so I purchased the book on tape. The intent was he was to read along as the tape played, but I'd find him with his finger on a word on page 15 and the tape was on page 100! I continued to purchase the tapes (then CD's) of the Harry Potter books since they are read with such intensity by the same person and are just captivating.
I've since heard that it's not so much the reading to your child to help him learn to read, but rather the togetherness that makes them want to read.
To this day, I remember my mom reading to my brother and I every night when we were little. I'm convinced that's what spurred my love of reading. However, I don't think it's the only factor since my brother doesn't like to read at all.
Question to you other parents...
At what age did you find reading to your child to be a worthwhile endeavor? My son is only 4 months old now and doesn't really have the patience to be read to yet. He is engaged when we hold him, facing us, and interact directly to him, but to prop him in our arm, facing away from us toward a book only leads to squirming and fussing.
We have a decent collection of books for him... including a couple of books in spanish, french, and italian that I intend to read to him at the same frequency as the "regular" books to develop some multi-lingual skills at the formative level.
I started reading to my daughter when she was about six months old. Mostly just the Little Golden Books at that time. I found that the more inflection you use, you know, changing your voice for each character and such, the more engaged the kids were at that early age. I totally agree with reading to your kids. I loved every minute of reading to mine. I remember we were reading a chapter book, I think it was The Doll In the Garden. I would read a few chapters a night, but one day I found my daughter, who was about 10, and my son, 7, sitting in her room reading ahead! She would read a few pages and then help him read a paragraph or two. That scene is forever etched in my mind. They just couldn't wait till bedtime to see what was going to happen next! It was the beginning of a love for reading for both of them. Word to the wise, though - be prepared to yell, "Will you put that book down and go outside and play." :-)
Hey, Ellipses, you can start now with books that have no words. Make the story up! Let little E turn the pages or chew on them. He'll catch on that it's a book soon.
I'll try that with the pier 1 catalog...
"Once upon a time, there was a fanciful drinking glass that looked sophisticated and exotic, but was completely useless for drinking out of..."
"And he met a chair that looks like a piece of farm equipment... and together they got nauseous from the conflicting smells of Asian Pear candles and Ocean Surf air freshener..."
:-)
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