Tips for Raising Readers

Research shows that the most important thing parents and caregivers can do to help their children succeed in school is to read aloud to them everday!

• Half of learning to read is believing that you can.
• Learning to love reading is just as important as …. learning to read.

Here are a few ways to encourage reading:

• Turn off the TV.
• Get a library card for every family member.
• Let your child see you reading - they learn by example.
• Read aloud: books, magazines, road signs, cereal boxes.
• Make lots of reading material available in the home.
• If possible, set aside 15-20 minutes a day for one-on-one book sharing. Make this time sacred, daily, and consistent.
• If a daily schedule simply isn’t possible, read as often as you can - make it fun, not another ‘chore’.
• Let your child CHOOSE some of the books you read together. Listen to rhyme, rhythm, & songs – skills related to reading.
• Identify pictures, signs, shapes, letters, and words – then categorize and discuss them.
• Choose large print for younger readers.

Things Your Child Should Know About Books

• The front of the book
• The words and the pictures
• Which way to read (left to right)
• When you are done with the first line of reading, you go to the next line (directionality)
• Word by word matching – points to words
• Left page is read before right page
• Knows a letter and knows a word
• Can point to the first and last letter of a word
• Knows a capital letter