Reading is a vital skill that can benefit children in many ways, such as improving their vocabulary, comprehension, critical thinking, and creativity. However, some children may struggle with reading or find it boring, especially when they have to do it for school. That’s why parents play an important role in supporting their children’s reading habits and making it a fun and rewarding experience.
Reading helps children develop their language, cognitive, social, and emotional skills1, that reading 20 minutes a day exposes children to 1.8 million words per year2, or that reading improves children’s academic performance and self-esteem3.
- A daily reading log is a record of what your child reads each day, how long they read, and what they learned or enjoyed from the book. A reading assignment is a task or project that your child has to complete based on a book they read, such as answering questions, writing a summary, or creating a poster. These activities can help your child practice their reading skills, track their progress, and demonstrate their understanding and creativity.
- Encourage your child to choose books that interest them and match their reading level. You can help them find books by visiting the library, browsing online catalogs, or asking for recommendations from teachers or friends.
- Set a regular time and place for reading. Make sure your child has a comfortable and quiet space to read, free from distractions such as TV, phone, or noise. You can also create a routine by reading together before bedtime or after dinner.
- Read aloud to your child or have them read aloud to you. This can help your child improve their fluency, pronunciation, expression, and confidence. You can also use different voices and effects to make the story more engaging and fun.
- Ask questions and discuss the book with your child. This can help your child improve their comprehension, critical thinking, and communication skills. You can ask questions such as “What do you think will happen next?”, “How do you feel about the characters?”, or “What did you learn from the book?” You can also share your own opinions and connections with the book.
- Use graphic organizers and comprehension bookmarks to help your child organize their thoughts and ideas. Graphic organizers are visual tools that help your child map out the main elements of the story, such as the characters, setting, plot, problem, and solution. Comprehension bookmarks are reminders of strategies that help your child understand what they read, such as predicting, questioning, clarifying, summarizing, or evaluating. You can find examples of graphic organizers and comprehension bookmarks online or create your own.
- Teach your child about the structure of words and how to sound out words. This can help your child improve their phonics and decoding skills, which are essential for reading fluency and accuracy. You can teach your child about syllables, spelling patterns, prefixes, suffixes, root words, and other word parts that affect the meaning and pronunciation of words. You can also help your child sound out words by pronouncing each letter or group of letters separately and then blending them together.
- Give your child audiobooks, podcasts, or other listening materials that match the books they read. This can help your child improve their vocabulary, grammar, and phonemic awareness skills, which are also important for reading development. Listening to audiobooks or podcasts can also expose your child to different genres, styles, accents, and cultures of literature.
- Praise your child for their efforts and achievements in reading. This can help your child develop a positive attitude towards reading and motivate them to keep reading. You can also reward your child with stickers, certificates, books, or other incentives that they value and enjoy.
- Communicate with your child’s teacher and school about their reading progress and needs. This can help you understand your child’s strengths and weaknesses in reading, as well as the expectations and goals of the school curriculum. You can also ask for feedback, suggestions, or resources from the teacher or school to help your child with reading at home.
