Helping young readers
It's that time again where I find myself writing the same thing over and over again, so decide I need to write a blog post about it. Today's question? What is the best thing you can do to help a young reader?
It's not buying an expensive phonics program. It's not adding in more worksheets. It's not even forcing a child to sit and read for longer periods of time. It's easier and far more counter-intuitive than that.
Ready?
It is reading good books out loud to your child.
Yes, you reading to your child is going to help make your child a better reader. Here's why:
1. Reading aloud puts the sound and rhythm of literary English in your child's ear.
Think about it. For the most part, we are all lazy speakers. How we communicate with each other on a casual basis is very different from what we read in books. If a child never or infrequently heard a book read out loud, trying to read a book themselves would feel a bit like trying to read a foreign language. If you don't know what words to expect; if you don't have a sense of formal sentence structure, it is an added hurdle to reading the words and finding the meaning in what you are reading.
2. Reading aloud helps to create a love of story.
If you are involved in a story, you want to find out what happens next. It's why you keep reading. There is a huge payoff when you become interested in the characters and their problems with those problems resolving at the end of the book. If you do not have experience with this feeling of satisfaction; of becoming part of the story, there is little motivation to do the hard work (at first) of reading. But if a do child does understand how stories work, then that child also knows how a story evolves. There is the beginning, where the characters and the conflict are being introduced. There is the middle where the action happens as the conflict is trying tot be resolved, and there is the ending where the problems are solved and the loose ends are being tied up. Before the child even opens a book, there is an expectation as to what will be experienced. A good story can have many different facets, but the common thread is that they all draw you in so that you become immersed. A child who loves a good story knows exactly why they are reading. They know the payoff is worth the effort.
3. Reading aloud builds vocabulary.
It is nearly impossible to try to sound out words if you have no idea what the word could be. English is tricky. We have basic phonics rules, but all too often, the word a child is trying to read is one of those exceptions that don't follow the rules. Any parent who has sat next to a child trying to sound out words is highly aware of exactly how frequently the exceptions happen. Sometimes you have to play around with the vowel sound, other times you might get part of the word and guess at the rest, it is not always straight forward. If a child has a large enough vocabulary, then this phonics guessing game is immensely easier because the chances of figuring out the word increase.
4. Reading aloud helps develop a child's ability to picture what the words are saying.
This is a skill in and of itself, and it is the key to reading comprehension. It is also very difficult to learn to do this skill while also learning to decode the actual words. These are two separate skills. A child without listening experience is not going to be able to picture what they are reading and also sound out the words, while a child who, because of practice, easily pictures what the words of saying can focus on the decoding yet still keep the story in mind.
5. Reading aloud build connection between parent and child.
The longer I parent and the longer I teach my children, the more convinced I am that academics needs to take a back seat to emotional health and stability. Real learning only happens from that place. A stressed, worried, fearful, or angry child cannot truly learn. Sitting together and sharing a story is one of the easiest ways to create a moment of connection. It is not only the physical closeness and shared experience. Very often, what is read will trigger conversations which can help understanding of each other the wider world. Stories can provide a safe way to discuss difficult topics because it is far easier to talk about what is happening with a fictional character than it is to talk about something that is difficult to your child. Book and stories provide a back door to tough conversations.
All of these things put together mean that a child who has listened to a lot of books is already ahead of the game when it comes time to do the hard work of actually learning to read. Continuing to read aloud offers support to a child as they build fluency. Children can understand books far above their own independent reading ability. There is no reason why they should be stuck with just what they can read themselves.
Start reading to babies as soon as you can; continue to read to your children as long as you can get away with. This is one of those things that you cannot do too much, and the benefits of which will continue to accrue.
It's not buying an expensive phonics program. It's not adding in more worksheets. It's not even forcing a child to sit and read for longer periods of time. It's easier and far more counter-intuitive than that.
Ready?
It is reading good books out loud to your child.
Yes, you reading to your child is going to help make your child a better reader. Here's why:
1. Reading aloud puts the sound and rhythm of literary English in your child's ear.
Think about it. For the most part, we are all lazy speakers. How we communicate with each other on a casual basis is very different from what we read in books. If a child never or infrequently heard a book read out loud, trying to read a book themselves would feel a bit like trying to read a foreign language. If you don't know what words to expect; if you don't have a sense of formal sentence structure, it is an added hurdle to reading the words and finding the meaning in what you are reading.
2. Reading aloud helps to create a love of story.
If you are involved in a story, you want to find out what happens next. It's why you keep reading. There is a huge payoff when you become interested in the characters and their problems with those problems resolving at the end of the book. If you do not have experience with this feeling of satisfaction; of becoming part of the story, there is little motivation to do the hard work (at first) of reading. But if a do child does understand how stories work, then that child also knows how a story evolves. There is the beginning, where the characters and the conflict are being introduced. There is the middle where the action happens as the conflict is trying tot be resolved, and there is the ending where the problems are solved and the loose ends are being tied up. Before the child even opens a book, there is an expectation as to what will be experienced. A good story can have many different facets, but the common thread is that they all draw you in so that you become immersed. A child who loves a good story knows exactly why they are reading. They know the payoff is worth the effort.
3. Reading aloud builds vocabulary.
It is nearly impossible to try to sound out words if you have no idea what the word could be. English is tricky. We have basic phonics rules, but all too often, the word a child is trying to read is one of those exceptions that don't follow the rules. Any parent who has sat next to a child trying to sound out words is highly aware of exactly how frequently the exceptions happen. Sometimes you have to play around with the vowel sound, other times you might get part of the word and guess at the rest, it is not always straight forward. If a child has a large enough vocabulary, then this phonics guessing game is immensely easier because the chances of figuring out the word increase.
4. Reading aloud helps develop a child's ability to picture what the words are saying.
This is a skill in and of itself, and it is the key to reading comprehension. It is also very difficult to learn to do this skill while also learning to decode the actual words. These are two separate skills. A child without listening experience is not going to be able to picture what they are reading and also sound out the words, while a child who, because of practice, easily pictures what the words of saying can focus on the decoding yet still keep the story in mind.
5. Reading aloud build connection between parent and child.
The longer I parent and the longer I teach my children, the more convinced I am that academics needs to take a back seat to emotional health and stability. Real learning only happens from that place. A stressed, worried, fearful, or angry child cannot truly learn. Sitting together and sharing a story is one of the easiest ways to create a moment of connection. It is not only the physical closeness and shared experience. Very often, what is read will trigger conversations which can help understanding of each other the wider world. Stories can provide a safe way to discuss difficult topics because it is far easier to talk about what is happening with a fictional character than it is to talk about something that is difficult to your child. Book and stories provide a back door to tough conversations.
All of these things put together mean that a child who has listened to a lot of books is already ahead of the game when it comes time to do the hard work of actually learning to read. Continuing to read aloud offers support to a child as they build fluency. Children can understand books far above their own independent reading ability. There is no reason why they should be stuck with just what they can read themselves.
Start reading to babies as soon as you can; continue to read to your children as long as you can get away with. This is one of those things that you cannot do too much, and the benefits of which will continue to accrue.
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