Letter Sent to Parents
by Susie Pretsky,
Reading Specialist Los Angeles
Remember when your baby took his or her first steps? Before that, she likely went through the stages of crawling, cruising, and standing. Then she passed through the phases of early walking, walking falling and the “Frankenstein” stance, until finally she became proficient. Now that all of our children are walking, we support their physical development by encouraging and modeling many types of good exercise.
Raising a reader is a lot like raising a walker.
The crawling, cruising, and balancing months of an early reader’s life are full of rhyming, naming, letter recognition games and word activities that expose children to rich vocabulary, giving them the language they need to prepare to read. This initial training includes listening to adults and older siblings read stories aloud, beginning early in the child’s life; hearing music and singing songs with rhyming lyrics; manipulating the letters of the alphabet in a variety of ways; participating in conversations with other children and adults.
The actual mechanics of reading develop among children at different rates – much the same way that babies begin to walk at different ages. Unlike walking, however, reading is not considered a natural evolutionary process for human beings. This is why some children will crack the reading code earlier than others, and why some children of above average intelligence may experience difficulty when learning to read. Pediatricians and parents intervene to remove obstacles that will prevent a baby from walking. Likewise, teachers, parents, and other professionals collaborate to find ways to support emerging readers, and especially those who struggle.
Buying that first pair of shoes is a thrill and parents want to ensure a good fit. The right fit for any reader is a book in their area of interest with a readable first page. “Readable” means that the child can decode 95% of the words on the page and can tell the gist of what he’s read. If you help your child become familiar with varied examples of children’s book genres (e.g., mystery, realistic fiction, biography, adventure, science, etc.), you will be helping your child to make satisfying book choices. Librarians and library websites (e.g. www.ala.org/ala/alsc, the Association for Library Service to Children) have wonderful recommendations and book lists with award-winning titles and authors.
Reading aloud to your child will help both of you identify enjoyable book preferences and genres. In fact, many children take pleasure in having parents read aloud to them long after they become competent solo readers. Choose read-aloud books that are above your child’s independent reading level, because research shows that listening to higher level texts will improve a child’s reading comprehension. Sit close to your child so that she can see the printed words while you read.
Once they’re walking, we give our children opportunities to practice and strengthen their muscles through active play and sports. Let’s offer the same opportunities to strengthen our children’s reading. In and out of school, children in every grade need opportunities to read, be read to, and talk about their reading.
Consider your family routines. If reading before bedtime is a challenge, can you carve a reading time into your child’s morning routine? Daily practice is important, and weekly literacy rituals can both encourage your reader and enrich family life. Share an interesting magazine or newspaper article at the dinner table once a week, or establish a weekly time for your family to sit and read together -- perhaps after lighting the Shabbat candles. When talking about reading, try out questions like, “What do you think will happen next?”, “Does this story or character remind you of someone or of an experience in your own life?”, or “Why is this important?” instead of or in addition to “What’s the book about?”
Our children follow our examples. Throughout their school careers, children need to see that their parents read for work and for pleasure, too – newspapers, magazines, books, instruction manuals, internet articles, etc. A literate household contains all manner of printed material.
Let’s make reading an important part of all our children’s lives, at school and at home. The next time that you reminisce about your baby, who crawled before he walked, remember the words of 18th century English poet and essayist Joseph Addison, “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”
Susie Presky
1472 Sterns Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Susie Presky gives permission for use of any part or the entire article. If you use the article, please provide her with a copy.