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t word.
4. Tell children how proud you are of their efforts and
skills.
Listening to your children read aloud provides
opportunities for you to express appreciation of their new
skills and for them to practice their reading. Most
importantly, it's another way to enjoy reading together.
Family Reading Time
A quiet time for family members to read on their own may
be the only chance a busy parent gets to read the paper.
What you'll need
Your own reading materials
Reading materials for your children
What to do
1. Both you and your child should pick out something to read.
2. Don't be concerned if your beginning readers pick
materials that are easier than their school reading books.
Practice with easy books (and the comics) will improve
their fluency.
3. If you subscribe to a children's magazine, this is a good
time to get it out. There are many good children's
magazines, and youngsters often get a special thrill out
of receiving their own mail.
4. Relax and enjoy while you each read your own selections.
A family reading time shows that you like to read. Because
you value reading, your children will too.
Story Talk
Talking about what you read is another way to help
children develop language and thinking skills. You don't need
to plan the talk, discuss every story, or expect an answer.
What you'll need
Reading materials
What to do
1. Read slowly and pause occasionally to think out loud about
a story. You can speculate: "I wonder what's going to
happen next!" Or ask a question: "Do you know what a
palace is?" Or point out: "Look where the little mouse is
now."
2. Answer your children's questions, and if you think they
don't understand something, stop and ask them. Don't worry
if you break into the flow of a story to make something
clear.
3. Read the name of the book's author and illustrator and
make sure your children understand what they do.
Talking about stories they read helps children develop
their vocabularies, link stories to everyday life, and use what
they know about the world to make sense out of stories.
Write and Talk, Too
While reading with your child is most important, there are
other activities that help to get children ready to read. With
a solid foundation, your child will not only read, but will
read with enthusiasm.
Learning to read is part of learning language. It's like a
little leaguer leaning to hit a baseball. The young hitter must
learn to watch the ball when it is pitched, to step into it,
and to swing the bat to make the hit. It's a single event made
up of three acts. Baseball players learn to do all three at
once.
The same is true of learning language. When we use
language, we speak words out loud, we read words on paper, and
we write. This section has activities that encourage your child
to
* speak
* read
* write
* listen
Begin long before you expect your child actually to read,
and continue long after your child is an independent reader.
Now, turn the page and start enjoying language.
Tot Talk
What's "old hat" to you can be new and exciting to
preschoolers. When you talk about everyday experiences, you
help children connect their world to language and enable them
to go beyond that world to new ideas.
What to do
1. As you get dinner ready, talk to your child about things
that are happening. When your 2- or 3-year-old "helps" by
taking out all the pots and pans, talk about them. Which
one is the biggest? Can you find a lid for that one? What
color is this one?
2. When walking down the street and your toddler stops to
collect leaves, stop and ask questions that require more
than a "yes" or "no" answer. Which leaves are the same?
Which are different? What else grows on trees?
3. Ask "what if" questions. What would happen if we didn't
shovel the snow? What if that butterfly lands on your
nose?
4. Answer your children's endless "why" questions patiently.
When you say, "I don't know, let's look it up," you show
how important books are as resources for answering
questions.
5. After your preschooler tells you a story, ask questions so
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