|
How
can I improve my child's reading?
- Parents are more
concerned about their child's progress in
reading than in any other subject taught in
school, and rightfully so. In order for students
to achieve in math, science, English, history,
geography, and other subjects, reading skills
must be developed to the point that most of them
are automatic. Students cannot struggle with
word recognition when they should be reading
quickly for comprehension of a text.
-
- Because reading is so
important to success in school, parents can and
should play a role in helping their children to
become interested in reading and in encouraging
their growth in reading skills. At the same
time, parents and teachers need to work
together. Many teachers are now sending home
practical ideas for parents to use with their
preschoolers. As a result, young children are
developing some of the skills at home that will
later help them in school.
What Can
Parents Do To Help Their Preschoolers In The
Learning-To-Read Process?
- Research shows that
children learn about reading before they enter
school. In fact, they learn in the best
manner--through observation. Young children, for
example, see people around them reading
newspapers, books, maps, and signs. Parents can
do a lot to foster an understanding of print by
talking with their preschoolers about signs in
their environment and by letting their children
know they enjoy reading themselves.
- As I Read To My
Preschooler, What Should I Do Specifically?
-
- Many parents recognize
the value and enjoyment of reading to their
young children, but perhaps they are not clear
about the specific skills that could be enhanced
through the process. Most important, reading
should be an enjoyable experience. Research
reveals that when young children experience warm
and close contacts with their parents when they
are being read to, they develop more positive
attitudes toward reading.
- Run your index finger
under the line of print. This procedure is
simple and helps children begin to notice words
and that words have meaning. They also gain an
awareness of the conventions of reading (e.g.,
one reads from left to right and from the top of
the page to the bottom; sentences are made up of
words; and some sentences extend beyond a single
line of print).
-
- One of the greatest
advantages of reading to preschoolers (or
children of any age) is the opportunity for
vocabulary development. Children learn the
meaning of words through good literature; words
take on rich meaning when used in an interesting
story.
- What Can I Do For My
School-Age Child Who Doesn't Like To Read?
-
- In the early elementary
years, from first through third grades, children
continue learning HOW to read. It is a complex
process, difficult for some and easy for others.
Care must be taken during these early years not
to overemphasize the learning-to-read process.
Reading for pleasure and information develops
reading interests and offers children the
opportunity to practice their reading skills in
meaningful ways. Parents of elementary-age
children should provide reading materials in the
home that arouse curiosity or extend their
child's natural interest in the world around
them.
- By encouraging and
modeling leisure-time reading in the home,
parents take the most important step in
fostering their child's reading development.
- How Can Reading
Research Information Be Useful To Me, As A
Parent?
-
- Current research in
reading reveals three important considerations
for parents AND teachers:
-
Children
who read, and read widely, become better readers.
-
Reading
and writing are complementary skills.
-
Parents
are important to children both as role models and
as supporters of their efforts.
- What Does Research
Say About Ways Parents Can Help Their Children
With Reading?
-
- The following
suggestions have been beneficial to many
parents:
-
Provide a
good role model--read yourself and read often to
your child.
-
Provide
varied reading material--some for reading
enjoyment and some with information about hobbies
and interests.
-
Encourage
activities that require reading--for example,
cooking (reading a recipe), constructing a kite
(reading directions), or identifying an
interesting bird's nest or a shell collected at
the beach (using a reference book).
-
Establish
a reading time, even if it is only 10 minutes a
day.
-
Write
notes to your school-age child; encourage written
responses.
-
Ask your
child to bring a library book home to read to a
younger sibling.
-
Establish
one evening a week for reading (instead of
television viewing).
-
Encourage
your child in all reading efforts.
- Where Can I Find
More Information About Increasing My Child's
Interest In Reading?
-
- Contact your local
library. Most libraries have summer book clubs
and special reading activities for children.
-
- Many organizations will
provide free information to parents who would
like additional ideas. Send a stamped,
self-addressed envelope to any of the following
groups:
-
- International
Reading Association
800 Barksdale Road
Newark, DE 19711
-
- ERIC Clearinghouse
on Elementary and Early Childhood Education
University of Illinois
College of Education
805 W. Pennsylvania Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801-4897
-
- American Library
Association
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
- Sources
-
- Most of the following
references--those identified with an ED or EJ
number--have been abstracted and are in the ERIC
database. The journal articles should be
available at most research libraries. For a list
of ERIC collections in your area, contact ACCESS
ERIC at 1 (800) USE-ERIC.
-
- Loveday, E. and
Simmons, K. (1988). "Reading At Home: Does It
Matter What Parents Do?" Reading, 22 (2), 84-88.
EJ 376 103.
-
- Moore, S.A. and Moore,
D.W. (1990). "Emergent Literacy: Children,
Parents, and Teachers Together (Professional
Resources)." Reading Teacher, 43 (4), 330-31. EJ
403 669.
-
- Resh, C.A. and Wilson,
M.J. (1990). "The Teacher-Parent Partnership:
Helping Children Become Good Readers." Reading
Horizons, 30 (2), 51-56. EJ 402 262.
-
- Scott, J.A., et al.
(1988). From Present To Future: Beyond Becoming
A Nation Of Readers." Urbana, IL: University of
Illinois Center for the Study of Reading. ED 302
823.
-
- Teale, W.H. and
Martinez, M.G. (1988). "Getting on the Right
Road to Reading: Bringing Books and Young
Children Together in the Classroom." Young
Children, 44 (1), 10-15. EJ 380 635.
-
- For more information on
this subject, contact:
-
- ERIC Clearinghouse
on Reading and Communication Skills
Indiana University
Smith Research Center
2805 East 10th Street
Suite 150
Bloomington, IN 47408-2698
(812) 855-5847
-
All
contents © and ™ 1997, 1998, 1999
Schwab Foundation for Learning
|
