by Jolanta Maria Nitoslawska-Romer, M.Ed.
International Director of Academic Affairs, BE+Live
We all know that reading aloud is one of the most important things that parents can do with their children. Perhaps you did not know this, but it does not matter which language you read in; as a matter of fact, it’s better to read in the language you feel most comfortable in. So just read! Don’t think that you should only read to your child when they are little and just learning to read. For the little ones, reading aloud builds many important foundational skills, introduces vocabulary, provides a model of fluent, expressive reading, and helps children recognize what reading for pleasure is all about. Sharing lots of different kinds or genres of books with your child exposes him to different words, different kinds of images, and whole new worlds. Your older kids or students will also enjoy a read-aloud, and they will also benefit in many ways.
In recent years, researchers have studied the impact of reading aloud to children. Their research findings are consistent with my own experience. Ralf Thiede, from UNC Charlotte, summarized these findings in his new book Children’s Books, Brain Development, and Language Acquisition. As Thiede points out, the act of reading aloud to children plays a major role in helping children build their vocabularies and learn how language works.
Another benefit to reading aloud to children is that it provides a safe structure for children and adults to talk about the stresses children are experiencing during this pandemic. Sometimes it is easier for kids to talk about how the characters in a story respond to stress than for them to talk about their own scary feelings.
Parents and teachers often stop reading to children when they can read by themselves. Do continue to read to them and sometimes with them. What a perfect opportunity, in these critical times, to sit or lie together and share stories and tales. It’s comforting, especially for kids in the thick of pre-adolescent angst. It’s also just plain nice. Your child will have all these great associations with reading and books. Reading aloud stimulates vocabulary growth as books have more sophisticated language that what we normally use. Don’t be surprised when a tween uses one of those fancy words in the days following a read-aloud session. Tweens are often beset by strong emotions. It can be a relief to have these new words to help them express their complicated feelings. They may even perhaps share some of these complicated feelings with you during this time.
This is also a great time for English teachers to read daily to their students. Connect with them through a story for 10 minutes each day! Set up a story routine: 10 minutes each day is better than 30 minutes once a week. Whatever you choose to read with your students, make it an enjoyable experience. Have fun visiting that magical place, getting to know that famous person, finding the answers to questions.
Some tips:
1. Always pre-read the book so you’ll know its theme and message. Your storytime will be much richer if you have read the book beforehand. This will also ensure that there are no “surprises” that might trip you up as you read.
2. Don’t read stories that you don’t enjoy yourself and don’t keep reading a book once you see that it was not a good choice. Admit to the students that it appears “boring”, and you’ll find them a better book. This will help children see that it’s OK to have preferences.
3. Make sure that everyone is comfortable. Some of your more active children may want to lie on the floor or doodle with crayons or pencils as you read. Telling the kids to “Now sit down! Be quiet! Sit up straight! Pay attention!” is not very conducive to a receptive audience. Much better is, “OK, boys and girls. Relax, get comfortable. You can put your heads down if you want.” Then they will WANT to listen!
4. Introduce the book and the author: Look at the book cover together and ask children to guess what they think the book might be about. Name the author and illustrator, so they’ll know that a real, live person wrote the story. Bring the author to life – helping students understand a person, with his/her own life’s experiences, who wrote the book. What motivated or interested the author in writing his/her book?
5. Read slowly: too often, teachers read too fast. When you read slowly, children can draw mental pictures of what you are reading. Dramatic and fun sound effects, hand motions, facial expressions, and changes in tone invite children to become a part of the story with you. Use expression when reading aloud. If possible, change your tone of voice to fit the character speaking.
6. Involve Your Listeners. Give children a line to repeat, a hand motion, or a sound effect that they can add at the appropriate time. Add movement, so they can get up, do something or get something and come back.
7. 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?”
8. Make Time for Discussion. Children love to talk about a book you’ve just read. Use creative questions to encourage in-depth thinking and discussion. Allow time for class discussion of the story, BUT don’t turn discussions into quizzes. This is reading for enjoyment time…not reading instruction time, nor oral quiz time.
Don’t be unnerved by questions. Children will ask questions. Be patient. Don’t rush your answers. Don’t put them off. Foster the child’s curiosity with patient answers. Then resume reading. But be aware that stopping too often can break up the flow of the story.
Let your students see you read in your free time. Be a positive role model.
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