Helping Your Child Become a Reader
Wed, 14 Jun 2000 10:16:13 -0400
BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL READER involves many small steps that
children take long before entering school.
"Helping Your Child Become a Reader," just added
to our
website, offers dozens of activities families may use to
help young children (birth - 6 years old)...
learn the alphabet, play with rhymes, "read" picture
books, act out poems, predict *what happens next* in
stories, create a bookcase, enjoy family stories, write
notes & stories, & more.
The 55-page booklet also provides tips for...
* taking charge of TV
* visiting the library
* summer reading
* learning with computers.
In addition, it lists...
* typical language accomplishments for children in 4 age
groups: birth-3 years old, 3-4, 5, & 6
* questions to ask if you think your child may be
encountering problems
* resources for families & caregivers
* resources for children.
Below are 2 excerpts: "Chatting with Children" &
"A Reading
Checklist." The full text is at
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Reader/index.html
A dozen other booklets in the Helping Your Child series are
at http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/hyc.html
"Helping Your Child Become a Reader" was written
by Andrea
DeBruin-Parecki with Kathryn Perkinson & Lance Ferderer. It
was published by the Office of Educational Research &
Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education (January
2000).
************************
"Chatting with Children"
************************
For children ages 1 to 6
========================
What To Do
~~~~~~~~~~
The first activities in the list below work well with
younger children. As your child grows older, the later
activities let him do more. But keep doing the first ones
as long as he enjoys them.
* Talk with your toddler often. When feeding & bathing
&
dressing him, ask him to name or find different objects
or clothing. Point out colors, sizes, & shapes.
* Talk with your child as you read together. Point to
pictures & name what is in them. When he is ready, ask
him to do the same.
* Teach your toddler to be a helper by asking him to find
things. When cooking in the kitchen, give him pots &
pans or measuring spoons to play with. Ask him what he
is doing & answer his questions.
* Whatever you do together, talk about it with your
child. When you eat meals, take walks, go to the
store, or visit the library, talk with each other.
These & other activities give the 2 of you a chance to
ask & answer questions. "Which flowers are red? Which
are yellow? What else do you see in the garden?"
Challenge your child by asking questions that need more
than a "Yes" or "No" answer.
* Listen to your child's questions patiently & answer
them just as patiently. If you don't know the answer,
have him join you as you look it up in a book. He will
then see how important books are as sources of
information.
* Talk about books you have read together. Ask about
favorite parts & answer your child's questions about
events or characters.
* Have your child tell you a story. Then ask him
questions, explaining that you need to understand
better.
* When he is able, ask him to help you in the kitchen.
He could set the table or decorate a batch of cookies.
A first-grader may enjoy helping you follow a simple
recipe. Talk about what you're fixing, what you're
cooking with, what he likes to eat, & more.
* Ask yourself if the TV is on too much. If so, turn it
off & talk!
> Talking & having conversations play a necessary part
in helping a child's language skills grow.
*******************
A Reading Checklist
*******************
There are many ways to encourage your child to become
involved in reading. Here are some questions to ask
yourself to keep you on track:
For Babies (6 weeks to 1 year):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Do I provide a comfortable place for our story time?
Is my child happy to be here?
* Am I showing her the pictures in the book? Am I
changing the tone of my voice as I read to show emotion
& excitement?
* Am I paying attention to how my child responds? What
does she especially like? Is she tired & ready to
stop?
For Toddlers (1 to 3 years) --
all of the questions above, plus:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Does my child enjoy the book we are reading?
* Do I encourage her to "pretend read," joining in
where
she has memorized a word or phrase?
* When I ask questions, am I giving my child enough time
to think & answer?
* Do I tie ideas in the book to things familiar to my
child? Do I notice if she does this on her own?
* Do I let my child know how much I like her ideas &
encourage her to tell me more?
* Do I point out letters, such as the first letter of her
name?
> Remember: Children learn step by step in a process
that takes time & patience. They vary a great deal in
the rate they make progress & in what holds their
interest.
For Preschoolers (3 & 4 years) --
all of the questions above, plus:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Do I find ways to help my child begin to identify
letters & make the letter-sound matches?
For Kindergartners (5 years) --
all of the questions above, plus:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Do I find ways to help my child begin to identify some
printed words?
* Do I let my child retell favorite stories to show she
knows how the story goes & what's in it?
For Beginning First-Graders (6 years) --
all of the questions above, plus:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Do I give my child the chance to read a story to me
using the text, picture clues, her memory -- or any
combination of these ways that help her make sense of
the story?
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===========================================================
Tracy Sisser, Peter Kickbush, & Kirk Winters
U.S. Department of Education
tracy_sisser@ed.gov