What Parents Can Do: Reading Tips
Let children pick out their own books. Book choice is a strong motivation for young readers. Children are more inclined to actually want to read books if they have a say in what books are picked. If a book is too difficult for them to read independently, it creates a good opportunity for you to read aloud to them. Let your children see you read.
Reading the newspaper during breakfast, a magazine in the dentists office while waiting, or carrying a book or two around in your bag, purse, backpack, or briefcase will help show children reading is something you enjoy. Children will often copy their family members so showing them reading is important and something you like to do in your spare time can help grow a joy of reading.
Choose books that you can share with your child by reading aloud to them…both fiction and non-fiction, regardless of what grade they are in. While reading, stop and discuss things like:
- what they think might happen next
- what they would do in a certain situation that the characters are experiencing
- how certain characters are feeling and why
- any connections they have to other things they have read, heard, watched, or seen
- what the most interesting thing that they heard was and why
- what they can learn from text features in the book (such as graphs, charts, diagrams, etc.)
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