Reading at home helps create a strong foundation for readers. It helps young readers see that reading is not just for school, but that reading a part of life. A way that we learn and consume information, in and outside of the classroom. To help your young reader(s) gain an understanding for the importance of reading, here are 4 things you can do at home to prioritize reading:
- Set Aside Time for Reading: Carve out specific time to dedicate to reading. Don't let this overwhelm you. Start small. 10 minutes is enough time to get a routine started. In fact, if your child struggles with reading, 10 minutes can feel like a lifetime. What's more important than how long you read is that reading is a part of the household routine. As you build your routine, time will begin to fly and you will notice that more and more time is being carved out for reading.
- Listen to Your Child Read Aloud: You can learn a lot about a reader just by listening to them read. Fluency is the flow and speed at which a reader reads the text. However, fluency does not equate comprehension. In fact, many children are fluent readers, yet they struggle with comprehension. This means, they can read the words as smoothly as they speak, but when you ask comprehension questions about the text - what was the main character doing? why did the character...? - the reader is stumped. More specifically, the reader may not even be able to tell you what was read at all. By listening, you can hear where the reader gets stuck and help your reader work on strategies for comprehension. Share Something You've Read: A simple, "I read that..." or "Guess what I learned today..." highlights ways that you use reading on a daily basis.
- Show Interest: Children read all the time at school... or at least they should be (if not, you might want to make some phone calls to the school). What is your child reading in English Language Arts, in Science, Social Studies... what kind of math word problems are they experiencing? Showing interest in what's being read at school is another way to show that you value the knowledge your child is consuming at school. Showing interest can also help increase reading participation at school. Especially if your child feels there is an expectation that they are to share when they come home