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Why do children vary in ability to read? Are some parents doing all they can to help their children get a good start while other parents don't have a clue of what to do? As a teacher and parent I have taught reading to all ages. Some parents are doing a great job preparing their children for reading and they don't even know it. Other loving parents could do so much more if they just understood. Teachers do not have a monopoly on good teaching methods. They may have a yearlong plan with materials and scope and sequence, but many parents are doing expert teaching without knowing it. Parents that want to be more effective in helping their children learn to read can do a couple things that will be very helpful.
Teachers take literature like a storybook and teach these specific reading skills:
1. Attention span development
2. Vocabulary
3. Pictures
4. Language forms and structures
5. Repetition
6. Rhymes
7. Empathy
8. Imagination and curiosity
Does it seem intimidating to try to do that with your own children at home? Is it better to leave this to the "experts"? The answers are "It shouldn't be!" and "NO!"
These skills can be taught assertively (on purpose) at home or parents can hope children pick up these skills naturally (accidentally). When parents put their children on their laps and read books to them, they often teach all these skills to their children and give them a head start toward success in school. Think of any book, parent, and child sitting on a lap and see what good teaching is being done whether the parent knows it or not.
When "Chris" is on Mom or Dad's lap with a Dr. Suess book, these eight skills are being taught. Maybe at first she only has the attention span to sit for three minutes and look at pictures of Sam I Am. Later she stays longer and flips pages and points at characters. Mom teaches her the names of the objects. Later Mom can tell her snippets of story as the pages fly by. Soon Chris's attention span grows and she lets Mom tell the story and point out a few words. Soon Chris recognizes some of those words when she sees them. If she learns her letters she can spell selected words. Repeatedly Chris hears the words (vocabulary) and the sentence structure. She hears how questions are formed and how voice inflection changes. The repetition and rhyme help her to memorize passages. Away from the book she will use some of the structures she has heard to form her own questions, requests, and comments. Mom asks her questions about the characters and puts Chris in the story. Do green eggs and ham sound yummy? How would she feel if that had happened to her? What should the little animal have done differently? Can you make a new ending of the story? Who...? What...? When...? Where...? Why...? How...?
Wow! There is a lot of learning going on here! Good parents may know exactly what they are doing. Many parents are doing it and do not have a clue of what a great teaching job they are doing. Some wonderful parents don't do any of this because it never occurred to them. It is never too late to start. Cuddle, read, share, teach, love! It will help your child succeed in reading!
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