According to the American Library Association, reading children stories with pictures can help them develop skills they will need for success in school. The children's literacy organization Reading is Fundamental recommends reading picture books with children to increase vocabulary, hone language skills, gain knowledge and encourage an interest in books. Reading picture books together can be beneficial regardless of your approach, but you can also follow simple recommendations to help you and your children make the most of story time.
Take a Picture Walk
Step 1
Look at the picture book's cover together.
Step 2
Ask what your child sees in the cover illustration, what's happening in the picture and what that suggests about the story in the book. You can use the "S-T-W" method to stimulate your child's thinking. This involves asking what children "see" in the picture, what they "think" about the picture's meaning or importance and what they "wonder" about the story in light of the illustration.
Step 3
Look at each page in turn, and repeat step 2. Exploring the pictures together before you read the text can help build your child's interest in the story and create excitement to find out what happens, according to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education. This also allows you to see what background knowledge and expectations your child brings to the story, which can guide your discussion of the book.
Read and Discuss
Step 1
Read the story to your child, but pause after each page to ask questions about the corresponding illustrations.
Step 2
Ask questions appropriate for your child's age and literacy skills. "What" questions work well with younger children or less experienced readers. For example, you might ask what various objects in the pictures are called, what they are used for or what characters are doing. Older children and more advanced readers often respond well to more open-ended questions, which are similar to "what" questions but less specific. For example, you might ask "What do you see here?" or "What's going on in this picture?"
Step 3
Respond to your child's answers. If your child needs help or asks a question in return, provide an answer or assistance. If your child provides a brief answer, try to elicit more detail or encourage additional thought by asking a follow-up question. If your child gives a good answer, expand on it by repeating the answer and adding more detail or an observation of your own.
Step 4
Discuss the story after you finish it. Ask what your child liked about it, what stands out as especially memorable and whether any questions still remain. If requested, you can read the story again to reinforce the experience before moving on to the next book or a new activity.
Tips and Warnings
- Make a habit of reading to your child at least once a day. If possible, make reading an enjoyable part of your daily routine by reading at the same time and in the same place, such as in the morning, after school or before bedtime. Interrupting the story to ask or answer questions is fine and encourages active engagement with the story.
- Don't let reading strategies interfere with the fun and excitement of enjoying a good story. Discussing the illustrations and plot can often help a child get more out of picture books, but if these strategies become a distraction, scale them back and focus more on simply enjoying the story.
