Reading Together

Children’s picture books are meant to be read out loud and enjoyed together. Many are designed to help young children learn how books work, how words work, and to engage in the fun that reading creates. They are meant to introduce children to new word meanings and rich vocabulary. The best of children’s books do all these things while developing a child’s keen imagination.

Children’s picture books are also meant to be read many times. Kids like and learn from the familiarity of the story, the words, and the illustrations they analyze. It is through this repetition that children learn new vocabulary and begin to recognize basic story elements such setting, characters, and conflict.

Finding ways to engage young children in the story not only creates more enjoyment during reading time, but also greatly enhances children's reading ability. When reading with young children who are just learning new words and how books work, one way to involve them is to get them to say the repeated words or phrases at the appropriate time. Children generally pick up on this repetition easily and these are naturally the parts of text that young children enjoy saying. Soon your child will begin to recognize a pattern in the story and look for this phrase as each page is turned.

Another way to engage your child is to help them read onomatopoeia (words that imitate a sound) and words that show emotion. These are words like Swoosh! Yikes! Tweet! and Quack! Have fun reading these words together while showing your child how to use expression in his or her voice to say the words as intended. This helps young children begin to recognize words and how punctuation impacts how the words are said.

When reading stories in verse, use the punctuation, rhyme, and line breaks to discover a sing-song rhythm for reading. This rhythm is what makes reading entertaining. If your child is a beginning reader, help him or her learn to read the lines in a way that creates rhythm. This is an excellent way to build your child’s fluency. Even children who are not yet readers will begin to recognize the rhythm in how you read the text to them.

Another way to engage beginning readers is to share reading parts. Many stories can easily be divided by character parts, stanzas, or even pages. Be sure to mix it up and have fun being in character.

Reading together is truly quality time well spent while also strengthening your child’s reading ability. Not only will you both value time with each other, but you will also be making fond memories of reading and, at the same time, building foundations for a valuable skill your child will use over a lifetime - reading.

Carol June Franks