literacy topics
Read-Alouds
“It has been contended that one of the most important things a parent can do, beyond keeping children healthy and safe is to read to them.
(Joyce, as cited in Ledger & Merga, 2018, p. 135.)
TIPS TO IMPROVE LEARNING
WHY
Reading aloud with your child can help them develop a love for books, and an interest in reading for fun. Children who read for enjoyment tend to develop strong vocabularies, spelling and comprehension skills.
REFERENCES
Allington, R. L., & Rachael E. Gabriel. (2012). Every Child, Every Day. Reading: The Core Skill, 69 (6), 10-15.
Duursma, E., Augustyn, M., & Zuckerman, B. (2008). Reading aloud to children: The evidence. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 93, (7), 554-557.
Ledger, S., & Merga, M. K. (2018). Reading Aloud: Children’s attitudes toward being read to at home and school. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43 (3), 124-139.
DESCRIPTION
A Read-Aloud can be a parent reading a story to a child from cover to cover, while the child listens, or it can be shared reading time, between the parent and child. For example, the parent could read one page, and the child read the next, or the parent could pause on certain words, for the child to read.
IDEAS FOR LEARNING
Give your child a choice of books. Offer books that are on topics of interest to your child, and use a large variety of book types. You could include how-to books, comics, lift-the-flap books, and story books.
Keep Read-Alouds short, fun and relaxing.
Talk to your child about things in the book that they know about or have seen.
If you are having your child read with you, ensure that the book you are using is easy for them to read. If they make more than one mistake for every ten words, try an easier book.
Find a quiet place where you will likely not be interrupted. Discuss what is happening in the book with your child while you read, or at the end.
WHAT TO AVOID
Avoid books that are very long or uninteresting to your child.
Avoid books that your child will have difficulty understanding.
Also try to find a place to read where there will be few interruptions.
Do not over do it with questions about the story, or about the words and sounds in the book.
If the book you have chosen is hard for them to read, read it to them.
HOW DO I GET MY CHILD TO READ WITH ME?
If your child resists reading with you, it might be that they have had some negative experiences or feelings about reading in the past. Perhaps they feel that reading is too hard.
As my teacher once told me, there is a book for everyone. It might be that you have not found books that are interesting to your child. Try funny books!
It may help to set a routine for Read-Alouds. You could read every night before bed, or after supper.
Try allowing your child to just listen to you read. Let them relax and enjoy the story. Do not require them to read to you. Once they begin to show interest in reading to you, be sure that the books you have chosen are easy for them to read.
You could also try reading for just two or three minutes to start with. Set a timer, and when the timer goes off, allow the child to go and play, or do something that they really like to do.
RESEARCH
To see the research that supports Read-Alouds, please go to my blog at ReadLearnNow.com, and click on the post entitled, “Reading Aloud to Children – Evidence-Based Practices Series”