Reading Aloud with Children
A lot of time and money is spent in the school education system to teach children to read. Many children however are still not reading well. The problem is that we concentrate too much on teaching how to read and not enough on the child wanting to read. The key is desire, which is planted by parents and carers long before a child attends school. For a child to desire to read they must enjoy the experience.
Children should be read to while they are young enough to want to imitate what they are seeing and hearing, its never to young to start. Reading to a baby is a relaxing way to spend a few minutes each day. You can begin with picture books making up your own story and discussing the images with your child, then build up to story books. Make sure children can see the pictures easily when you are reading to them it helps them understand the story. Read slowly and clearly so the child can get a mental picture of what he is hearing. Using rhymes and songs will stimulate an infants language. You should read to your child on a regular basis, try setting a time each day for reading, bedtime stories are a good opportunity, and why not keep a book in the car for when you are traveling. Read often but keep the stories short enough to hold a child’s interest while you are building their imagination. Make sure the stories are interesting and exciting, use plenty of expression, you could even try changing the tone of your voice to fit the dialogue. Preview the book by reading it yourself ahead of time. This allows you to shorten or elaborate areas.
Very active children may find it easier to listen if their hands are keep busy with paper and crayons. The staring point of curiosity about written language is an interest in scribbling and drawing. Allow time for questions and answer them patiently. Discuss the pictures and story, let your child use his imagination to expand on the story using the pictures. Be a good role model make sure your child can see you reading other then at aloud-times. Read stories yourself, your pleasure and enthusiasm will show in the stories you read to your child. Provide a wide variety of reading material in the home, such as books, magazines and newspapers, children love to look at the pictures even if the writing is ‘boring’. Arrange a time each day for your child to read himself, reading may just be looking at pictures and turning pages. They may also like to read their own version of the story to other children. Fathers should also make an extra effort to read to their children. A large percentage of primary school teachers are women, children also associate reading with women and school work.
Reading aloud comes naturally to very few people, it takes practice. The art of listening is an acquired one, it must be taught and cultivated gradually. There is no time limit for reading a book, but there is a time limit on a child’s teachable moments. The most important thing is that you and your child enjoy reading together.
You may like to make your own book with your child perhaps telling the story of an outing you went on together. You can find a selection of children’s books to buy on the LBCMA’s bookshop pages.
