A. Reading With Your Child

We All Love to Read!

Families that read together help to show our children that reading is valued. Children who are read to early on in life, associate reading as a pleasurable activity. We all like to do things that are pleasurable or that bring us joy, and children are no different. Reading aloud to your child is the best investment you can give to her or him.
***Highly Recommended: Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handout

Make Reading a Part of Every Day

Want to know how to get your kids to love reading? It's a simple formula: children that are read to the most, crave reading the most! Read to and with your child today and everyday. You can keep on reading together even throughout middle school.

Reading Increases the Vocabulary Word Banks of Children

An average children's book contains a higher level of vocabulary than most conversations.

Reading Together Build Strong Concentration Skills

Children who are read to, are able to focus on reading for longer periods of time.

Scholastic's Global Literacy Campaign

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Read The Reading Bill of Rights:
The Reading Bill
of
Rights

The Benefits of Reading Aloud

Reading aloud to our children assists them in so many ways. It helps our kids to:

Associate reading as a pleasurable activity
See that reading is everywhere
Learn that reading is valued
Fall in love with language & reading
View caregivers as reading role models
Develop knowledge of written language syntax
Improve their attention spans
Build a good vocabulary bank
Build skills to becoming lifelong learners
Work out and relate to the psychological issues they face in books (fear of the dark, new siblings, going to school…in a gentle and safe manner)

See that minds outside of our own have something important to say
Become part of a community of readers

"A good children's book is three times richer in vocabulary than conversation"

- Jim Trelease

"Children's books actually contain 50% more rare words than prime time television or even college students' conversations " (Reach Out and Read Website).

Tips for a Fantastic Read Aloud

Conducting a pleasurable read aloud experience simply requires time, a great book and enthusiasm. Have fun with it! The more that your child sees you enjoying the experience of reading, the more he or she will crave reading too! Below are some essential tips for having a fabulous reading session:

Read aloud daily - Have a set time and place for reading everyday
Read what you love - Your child will pick up on your excitement and enjoyment
Read with enthusiasm - Vary your volume, your pitch and the words that you emphasize
Create silly voices for different characters, if the story warrants it
Really, really emphasize the first & last sentence - The way you speak your first line should be sensational, almost magical, like you are casting a spell. - If anything is more important than the first line of a story, it's the last.
Drag out the last line- the more slowly you say it, the more satisfied your child will be.
Involve your children
- Give children a line to repeat, a hand motion or a sound effect that they can add at the right time
Help your child to see the story
- Point out details in illustrations to help your child to become a keen observer. - Discuss what she or he notices.
Invite children to use their senses
- Help children imagine not only the sights in a story but the sounds, smells, tastes, physical sensations, and emotions, as well.- Periodically, stop and ask children to pretend to use their senses to explore a part of the story: "Can you pretend to pet the puppy? How does the puppy feel? What do you think the characters hear? What do they smell?
Ask open-ended questions
- This allows your child to explain, rather than give 1 or 2 word answers
Ask for predictions

- What will happen next?

Try to read books together that are just above your child's reading level

      - This will allow your child to be exposed to
        more complex sentence structures and
         vocabulary.

Draw attention to new vocabulary words
Model “think aloud” techniques

- I wonder, I think, I bet

Ask all family members & friends to read aloud too to your child

- This will show your child that everyone reads:
men, women, teens, elderly

LOVE YOUR LIBRARY + Get a library card - This the cheapest, yet most valuable investment in your child's education.
Visit your library regularly to choose new and treasured favorites
Get book recommendations from a librarian or consult other experts and blogs
Attend Read Alouds
- Visit your public library and go to NYC local bookstores like Books of Wonder (Union Square) or Bank Street Book Store (Upper West Side) to hear librarians and famous authors read aloud.

FREE Books for Your Pre-Schooler

The NYC Imagination Library is an initiative of the NYC DOE. The goal is to promote the development of emergent literacy & language skills that are important for every child’s success in school by encouraging all NYC parents to read aloud to their children from birth until age five. Just enroll your preschool child (age 0 to 5 yrs) in the NYC Imagination Library and a new, carefully selected, age-appropriate book will be mailed each month in your child’s name directly to your home. Books will begin arriving at your home six to eight weeks after your registration form has been received, and will continue every month until your child turns five. Your child will be eligible for this FREE program as long as you live within the five boroughs of NYC.
Enroll today at: http://www.nycimaginationlibrary.org