Bringing Books to Babies
A research committee called the Commission on Reading, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, reported in 1985 that "the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children." Now, more than ever, in a world where advancing technology makes living, working, and learning more complex by the minute, success depends on the ability to read.
According to the literacy organization "Reading is Fundamental," research has shown that "reading aloud is the best way to prepare children for learning to read" and helps children develop language skills. "Reading aloud also creates a special time for you to bond with your children." For more information, visit their website at www.rif.org/parents, and in the left column click on "Reading Aloud."
Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, indicates that reading aloud also helps children with reading disabilities "build visual images before the printed word becomes meaningful. The child who cannot read or struggles with it can still find meaning in the picture of whales ... A child who can store those images in the imagination will be better prepared for the word w-h-a-l-e when he or she is trying to decode it. If there is no visual image to match the word, it's a foreign language immediately," said Trelease. Additionally, children listen on a higher level than they read, so listening to other readers stimulates growth and understanding of vocabulary and language patterns.
The Family Literacy Project of Irvine, California offers some great tips for reading to children to nurture them and help them learn. Some of the tips include:
Snuggle when you read.
Make predictions - the child tells what he thinks will happen next.
Talk about the authors and illustrators of the books you read.
Be patient while your child is reading aloud.
Alternate reading - you read a page, your child reads a page.
Create a special place for your child's books in your home.
For the complete list, see www.iusd.org/parent_resources/tipsreading.htm
More tips are provided by Dr. D. Ray Reutzel, currently at Southern Utah University:
Choose books with children's interests in mind. Reading materials that reflect your curiosities may not reflect the students'.
Choose "just right" materials. Ideally, the materials you select should match as closely as possible the listening comprehension levels of the children.
Watch the time. Fifteen minutes of read-aloud per day is sufficient.
Introduce children to the variety of texts that we, as adult readers, enjoy.
Read to individuals and small groups--not just the whole class.
The National Institute for Literacy offers a parent guide with details on what schools should be teaching and what parents should be doing to help at each stage of a child learning to read. www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/reading_first2.html
US Dept of Education: www.ed.gov/parents - click on the left hand side in the purple box, "help my child read," and then right under that, click "reading resources." Also on the www.ed.gov/parents page is a link for Spanish-speaking parents - in the "Features," click "Tool Kit for Hispanic Families," and then "Tips for Helping Children Learn to Read."
Some books recommended by the American Library Association that parents and children can read together:
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, by Verna Aardema, 1975
The Runaway Bunny, by Margaret Wise Brown, 1942
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle, 1970
Abuela, by Arthur Dorros, 1991
The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats, 1962
Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey, 1941
For the complete list, see www.ala.org/ala/alsc/alscresources/booklists/booksboysgirls.htm
A few of the short novels Jim Trelease recommends for reading aloud:
Baseball in April, by Gary Soto, 1990
A Blue-Eyed Daisy, by Cynthia Rylant, 1985
Chocolate Fever, by Robert Smith, 1978
The Hundred Dresses, by Eleanor Estes, 1944
The Iron Giant, by Ted Hughes, 1987
Shoeshine Girl, by Clyde Robert Bulla, 1989
And a few of the picture books he recommends for reading aloud:
Baby in a Basket, by Gloria Rand, 1997
Brave Irene, by William Steig, 1986
Chewy Louie, by Howie Schneider, 2000
Johnny on the Spot, by Edward Sorel, 1998
For the complete list, visit http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/rah_treasury.html