-
If your child is not yet a reader, spend time reading aloud to them daily. If your child is a reader, they can read to you daily or you can take turns.
As you read together share what happens in your mind as you read. Clearly state what you are thinking as you read. This will show your child that good readers think as they read. This is an important skill in reading and helps improve comprehension. Model this for a while then start to ask your child to share their thinking. Stop a few times during the book to do this. Eventually this will become a habit and your child will internalize this important comprehension skill.
"When I read_________, I was so surprised! I thought____"
"I just learned______________."
"Oh, that didn't make sense. Let me try again."
-
Reading TO Your Child
Here are skills to practice while reading the book to your child. These concepts will help your child develop the reading behaviors they will need to become independent readers.
- Show me:
- a letter
- a word
- a sentence
- a punctuation mark
- the front of the book
- the back of the book
- where I should start reading the story
- where do I go after I read this sentence?
(left-right and top-bottom) - a space
- how I should hold the book
- the title of the book
- Show me:
-
Reading WITH Your Child
For students reading at levels B, C, or D.....they are still learning sight words and learning to read.
- Discuss your favorite part/s
- Stop along the way to check for understanding. Ask, "What has happened so far?" or "What have we learned so far?"
- After reading, ask specific questions about the text events, characters, new information (see last bullet)
- Practice retelling the story from beginning, middle, to end.
- Challenge your child to remember facts that were learned in the story.
- Encourage your child to look back in the text for help if they are stuck on an answer. Help your child do this if necessary. You may need to model and show how you would look back and use information from the book in your answer at first.
-
Reading Independently
If your child is reading books at levels E and beyond...you can begin to ask more varied types of questions (since there is more "meat" to texts at these levels).
Here are some possible questions you can ask your child as you engage in conversations. Encourage your child to look back to the text for help if she is stuck on an answer. Help your child do this if you need to. You may need to model and show how you would look back and use information from the book in your answer at first.
* Did you read something that reminded you of something you have thought, felt, or experienced in your own life? Did what you just read remind you of another book or something you read about in another book? When you read that part/passage, did you think of something that happened in the world or everyday life?
* Do you have any feelings as you read your book today? Share the feelings you had as you read the text. Ask your child, "WHY did you feel that way? What happened in your book that made you feel ______? Can you relate to the character? Do you feel like you understand the character/situation?
* Did you make any inferences? You might word it as "Did you do any detective work as you read?" What predictions did you make? What did you think might happen? WHY? What made you think that ______ would happen?
* Did you have any questions as you read? What were they? Did they ever get answered? What do/did you wonder about?
* Why do you think the author wrote this story? Do you think the author wrote this story to teach you something? Do you think there is a bigger message/lesson that the author wanted to you to think about after you finished reading this book?
