The more a child reads, the better reader he or she will be. Things that parents can do to encourage reading are:
- Model reading – let your child see you reading
- Encourage all reading – magazines, directions, even comic books reinforce reading skills and help the child to practice these skills
- Make regular visits to the library
- Help your child to select books that reflect his or her interests (sports, animals, etc)
- Read aloud to your child – even older children like to hear a good story
- Try to choose books and topics that you both enjoy
- Read slowly and try to stop to talk about the book and answer questions
- Look for new or unusual words
- Have your child read to you and make it a fun time! Don’t be afraid to supply some words for your child. Reading should be fun, not a chore.
If a young reader gets stuck:
- Wait and see if they work it out.
- Say, Try that again.
- Say,Look at the picture.
- Say, Think about what would make sense.
- Say, Read the sentence again and start the tricky word.
- Tell the word.
If young readers make a mistake:
- If the mistakes make sense, don’t worry about it.
- If the mistake doesn’t make sense, wait to see if the reader will fix it.
- Say, Try that again.
- Say, Did that make sense?
- Say, Did what you read look right and sound right?
Tell the correct response