You may have noticed your child's classroom teacher, Title I teacher, or literacy coach encouraging you to read aloud with your child. Although this may seem unnecessary if your child is already a reader, or inneffective if your child is not, it is actually a very valuable tool to help your child become a more fluent reader. Reading aloud (picture books and chapter books) to your child serves many different important purposes, from fostering interest and enjoyment of literature to vocabulary development. Reading aloud enables children to be exposed to longer, more extended pieces of literature as compared to the highly predictable books that will be used when they begin learning how to decode. Reading aloud to your child also offers the opportunity for you to begin modeling good reading habits such as making predictions about a story. For example, before reading, you may use the illustrations and title to predict what the story is about. While reading, periodically stop and talk about what might happen next. And most important is the special time spent with your child sharing a good story!
