Tips for reading
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- Encourage 30+ minutes of reading daily. Keep a variety of books and literature around the house and car. Collect brochures (college, vocational, travel) and set them out.
- Be a role model. Let your child see you read at home.
- Model your thinking about what you read, like, "I never though of it this way. Have you? I wonder why she wrote it this way."
- Read aloud (really!) so your children can....
- Connect reading with warm, good feelings
- Learn about words and language
- Talk about characters, settings, and plot
- Learn about a variety of topics
- Explore social and moral issues and behaviors
- Be motivated to read on their own
- Discover which authors and writing styles they like
- Stay connected to their family
- Build a lifelong commitment to reading
- Grow up to read to their children
- Hear you read
- Build listening skills
- Expand vocabularies
- Become better readers
- Ask reading-related questions to start conversation:
- What are you reading? Do you like it? What's that about?
- What did you read today? What will you read tonight?
- Can I tell you about something I just read?
- I just read a great quote about last night's game. Can I share it?
- I never thought of it that way. What do you think?
- You could write like that! Don't you love how that author said that?
- Visit a book store or library together.
- Ask, "What's your Lexile?" or "Are you working toward your goal?"
- Tell them you love to hear them read to you. Don't correct every single error. If they are getting the gist, let it go! If the error affects the meaning, ask, "Does that sound right? Does that make sense?"
- Keep it positive!
- Feel great about yourself for encouraging a literate lifestyle!
