Listen to Your Child Read Each Night
Reading to your child and listening to your child read are the best ways you can help your child learn to read! The familiar books he/she brings home each night have been read before in school. Let your child show you how well they can read. This daily practice promotes reading fluency and expression. Enjoy this time together!
Show Your Child That Reading is Important
When you take the time to listen to your child read, you are showing them that they are important to you and so is reading! Turn off the TV and find a quiet place to read. Make sure your child is not hungry or tired. Dedicate 10 to 15 minutes a day to listen to, and enjoy, your child's reading. Reading together can be a very powerful learning experience for your child!
Praise Your Child For Their Efforts
Reading books should be fun! Remember to show interest and enthusiasm as your child reads. Reading can be very difficult in the beginning, so avoid criticism. We celebrate when children read for meaning and make attempts, even if they don't always get it right. Provide wait time to see if they can work out their confusions. Children need a little time to think about the word and what is happening in their story. Do not make them "sound it out". If your child gets frustrated, help him/her by telling him the word or reading the "tricky part" for him. Your child needs to see that you can have fun reading too! Support your child, but let them know that they are the problem solver when reading.
Help create an independent reader!
Help create an independent reader!