6 Things To Do When Reading Aloud to a Child

1) Add dimension and Props- When reading to a child electronically make sure that you add a few props to go with the story. You can also end the story by sharing a food related item, for example when you are reading a book that is based on cookies throughout the story (ex: When You Give a Mouse a Cookie), enjoy a cookie on your end while the child enjoys the same yummy snack from their end. 

2) Bring The Author to Life- Before you read the book online, take a few moments to learn about the author or illustrator. Many authors/illustrators have uploaded content to our website, just click their name from their book page to read a short bio and explore their social media links.  If for some reason you can’t find the info here on Be There Bedtime Stories, do a Google search.

3) Read The Book to Yourself First- Take an extra five minutes and browse through the book by yourself first.  This advanced reading will help you refine the story so that you can leave out material you might want to shorten or possibly even emphasize. This can also help you read through the book with ease, once you have had a “practice” reading.

4) Slow Your Reading- The most common mistake in reading aloud whether the reader is a five year old or ninety-nine is reading too fast. Read slowly enough for the child to build mental pictures of what they just heard you read. Slow down enough for the child to see the pictures on the screen without feeling rushed. If you read too fast, it leaves no time for the child to vocalize and express their thoughts and feelings about the story.

5) Play The Cover Game- the first time you read the book, take some time to discuss the cover illustration, ask the child what they think the story is going to be about based on the front cover illustration. This is a great way to have a deeper conversation outside of the story with the child you are reading to.

6) Say More Than Just Goodnight!-  As you read the story, keep the child involved by occasionally asking them what they think is going to happen next.  This prompts them to use their imagination and gets them thinking about the story on a deeper level. Reference locations or things that you have shared in your experiences with them. For example: if you’re reading a book about the ocean, then recall when they visited you on the west coast last summer. That way, you keep those memories fresh and they have a personal relationship to the content in the book. At the end of the book, remind them about any upcoming visits or refer to something going on in your life that they may be familiar with, such as “I was in my friends garden yesterday and she has daisies, just like the ones that we planted in your garden together last summer!” Take advantage of the video recording and ‘Say More Than Just Goodnight’.

Tips provided by BeThereBedtimeStories.com

Early Readers

Recently I read that the National Association for the Education of Young Children presented a report that two thirds of kindergarten teachers say that students are coming to school without the basics of knowing letters among other concepts. http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1bdZC9/www.good.is/post/kindergarten-teachers-say-students-are-behind-on-day-one/

Before I had kids I taught third and fourth grade. I left teaching for a few years to be home with my girls when they were young. When my first daughter entered preschool I began to wonder what skills would be optimal for her to have, coming into kindergarten. I gave one of my former colleagues a call that happened to teach kindergarten at the time. One thing I remember her saying is the importance of students to identify every letter in the alphabet and ideally know the sound attached to each letter. It was helpful information for me at the time.

This brings me back to a post I had last year and the power of Environmental Print (another concept I was not aware of as a third and fourth grade teacher). This includes all the billboards and signage we see every day out in our community with our little ones in-tow. When you consider Environmental Print, it is very convenient to have all these gigantic letters up around us daily! We drive down a shopping drag and there is Target in big red letters, McDonalds in their Trademark yellow and Home Depot in orange. Why not kill two birds with one stone and use both letter identification and color identification conversation with our little ones. A little really goes a long way, but I would advise that consistency is key. Before long they will be identifying the letters and colors before you even have a chance to.

Research + Common Sense = Opportunity for Improvement

Recently someone shared an article regarding a study from The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that rigorously evaluates government-funded social services and education programs. It found that annual book fairs providing summer reading materials to students in high-poverty elementary schools gave students  a significant gain in reading levels over a three year period.

"ABC Letters in the Library" - Lobster Press on BeThereBedtimeStories.com

Here comes the common sense part of it. I think this finding easily translates into most any home, anywhere.

This finding makes me think of all the places in our homes where we can have books that entice our little ones to pick them up to take a look. Books are naturally engaging. I have personally witnessed this, time and time again. Merely having a collection of books in the presence of a child, from toddlers to high school students, causes them to open up the book and take a look (at the very least). The research from the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy reflects this and common sense would tend to fall in line as well. No?

Common sense also tells me that one has to be resourceful if one does not have the funds to fill a home with books. Libraries will provide a regular supply of fresh material, but one has to be organized and diligent about getting to and from the library on a regular basis. I have not always been successful with this endeavor and have paid many a fine for my oversight. Worth every penny, though, I might add. There are also organizations that literally give books away for free. I am lucky enough to have one in my suburban Chicago location. However, I only found out about it through the school I work for. I do believe that there needs to be better networking and awareness of resources available to the public.

So the next time you walk by a bookshelf that is in disarray, look on it as a blessing in disguise. How great is it that someone passing by couldn’t help but reach out and engage with a book!

Do You Hear Voices?

Well, hopefully you hear just one and it is while you are reading.  While we read as adults, we hear ourselves reading aloud, inside of our heads.  This is something I never really thought about or talked about before it came up in a graduate class last year.  It is important to let young readers know that they should hear themselves read in their head as they read silently.  As they get older and do more silent reading, they will be using their inner reading voice more and more.  If they are not hearing this voice while they are reading silently they are falling prey to a simply termed phenomena called “fake reading”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Young readers should be doing everything that good readers do with their inner reading voice as they read silently.  These include stopping to re-read portions if they lose meaning.  They would also use this voice to sound words out, to ask questions, make predictions and make connections.  Being aware of their inner reading voice encourages children to use their meta-cognitive skills.  This is a fancy way of saying they are aware of what is going on in their head as they read and learn.

The Reading Race

Recently I have come across an interesting by product of reading instruction in our schools and it has given me some new perspectives.  This year I have given a reading assessment to about 50 middle school students over the past couple months.  This involves students reading aloud a passage and then I ask about ten comprehension questions about the text.  All the while I am making note of reading behaviors and how successful they are with the text.  I noticed something striking.  The vast majority did not look back to the text at all, in spite of the fact I told them before they started to read that the text would remain in front of them and they could use it all they wanted to.  Sometimes they were successful not looking back.  Often times they were not. After the assessment was over I would sometimes re-ask a question they missed and direct them to look back to the text to help them and usually they were able to then give an acceptable response to the question.

This lack of text use tells me they don’t see the text as a place to go back and dig or even meander.  In and out.  Done.  I can almost see it in their eyes, “Why on earth would one venture back into that maze of words?”  These are just guesses on my part and the middle school mind is somewhat of a mystery to us all, but I am certain that we could do a better job teaching reading in our school.  As an educator, standardized testing lingers in the recesses of my mind ALWAYS.  However, that shouldn’t get in my way of teaching students that reading is not a race.  Much like life, it is all about the journey!

One of my absolute favorite authors on this topic is Kelly Gallagher.  I am constantly dropping his name and sharing his resources in my place of work.  One inspiring book he wrote a few years back is called Reading Deeply, which kind of says it all. Chris Tovani is another educator who has written a number of books on literacy instruction and uses many real life examples throughout her work.  These authors are easy to read, practical and immensely logical on this topic.

"Fur and Feathers" - Sylvan Dell Publishing on BeThereBedtimeStories.com

So what’s a PARENT to do about this reading race?  I think that if we make reading a regular, relaxing, and enjoyable event kids won’t see reading so much as a race to get through it but a journey to remember. I read to my girls most nights.  I myself am going to make a point to not just use the single speed and direction model of reading (steady and forward), but to stop from time to time to ponder something out loud and even go back to check out the text we have already read to support my ponderings.  While I usually try to make the reading fun, I don’t think I have lingered on the words enough.  So what if we don’t get through even one chapter.  I think kids like to talk about what is going on in the story as much as reading about it.  I am going to work harder on making each journey one that they will not soon forget.