Reading aloud to your child helps prepare her to learn to read and encourages a lifelong love of reading. By reading aloud to your child, you are helping him develop the language skills that he will need for school and beyond. Reading aloud also allows you to spend time with your child. It promotes closeness and can help set your child up for success.
Step 1
Choose books that interest your child. Find out what your child is interested in and find books that relate to those interests. Children enjoy learning new things about their world.
Step 2
Allow your child to help you pick out books at the library or book store. Children become more engaged in reading when they are able to be a part of the selection process.
Step 3
Read simple picture books with easy-to-remember plots with younger children. Ask questions about the book and see what your child remembers when you are done. Find books that allow your child to get involved with the story, or ask your child to point to objects in the pictures.
Step 4
Choose longer books or short chapter books as your child gets older. Split up the reading over several days or weeks. Set the stage each day by asking your child what he remembers about what you read the day before.
Step 5
Help your child understand words that she might not know yet to increase her vocabulary. Find ways to use these new words in daily life to reinforce learning.
Step 6
Summarize or paraphrase parts of the book that may be beyond your child's developmental level or understanding. Don't underestimate your child, however. Introduce new concepts and help your child understand these new ideas.
Step 7
Allow your child to fill in the blanks. In well-known stories that you have read before, pause and point to the next word, and see whether your child can figure out what word comes next. This allows your child to feel as if she is reading and introduces word-recognition skills.
Step 8
Change your voice to give each character a unique voice. Play along with the book and use your intonation to differentiate between characters and add drama. Young children love to hear the characters use funny voices, and it helps them to see reading time as a fun time that they are spending together with you.
