Parents how can you help wh
en your child reads to you? Children can’t wait to share their reading prowess with their parents. If time is limited, here is a parent tip.
STOP, take smaller bites while reading by following the steps below.
Divide the book they are going to read into smaller bites for each reading. How you ask? Use a sticky note with the word ‘STOP’ printed on it. Place this note a reasonable number of pages into the book that your child is going to read with you. This is especially helpful if it is a chapter book or textbook. Each reading session they will simply read until they reach the ‘stop’ sign. This gives a more manageable section at a time and allows for some very important comprehension development.
Preview the vocabulary in the reading section. Look through the section and discuss any words that might be new to your child or have an unusual letter pattern. Parents, this is your time to teach reading skills to your child.
Review any previous sections of the book that have already been read. What happened, when, who was involved, where did it take place.
Predict if you want to really excite your child about their reading. The element of curiosity grabs and sustains their attention! What do they think is going to happen in the story? What choices will the characters face? Will there be decisions made that will change things in the story? Where will the story take place?
Summarize after they read their section. Check their predictions. Did any come true? Did you know that the brain gives itself a ‘pleasure reward’ for accurate predictions? Ask them to verbally tell what happened in the section they read…where did it take place, what characters were in the story section, what happened at the beginning of the reading, what happened at the end. Was there anything that could have happened differently? Is their a message to learn from the story?
Prepare for the next section by moving the STOP sign further into the story. Repeat the same steps as before. Continue until the entire book is read.
STOP, Take Smaller Bites While Reading was first published on NutsAboutReading.com.
