Reading is an active and social process, but it is not magic. It takes a little practice and know-how to enhance your child’s reading skills.  Here are a variety of strategies that can be used to get the most out of a read-aloud while still having fun with your child.

Before Reading Strategies

Good readers become engaged with text prior to opening the cover of a book or reading the first sentence.  They are active right from the start!

• Have a purpose in mind for your read-aloud.  It can be as simple as making a choice to read a story or to learn new information – or even re-read a familiar book.
• Make the book selection a social process by discussing what to read or why you’re reading it.  Listen closely to your child’s thoughts during this discussion.  Let their interest(s) guide the choice(s).
• Explore the front and back cover of the book to activate thinking.
• Hold a short conversation about what you each think the book might be about based on your cover explorations. This is an opportune time for you and your child to share your background knowledge about the subject.
• Take a picture-walk.  Flip through the pages of the book and take a look at each of the pictures and structure of the text.  At this point, active readers begin to make predictions.  These predictions will form the early framework for understanding of the topic/story/text.

Before reading strategies should take five minutes or less.  It is the time to activate engagement and curiosity by sharing with each other.

During Reading Strategies

During reading strategies are designed to help readers think along as the story or text develops.

• Continue to make and confirm predictions.  This is another great opportunity to share with each other and to check for understanding of more complex ideas.
• Encourage your child to ask for clarifications of unfamiliar vocabulary, terminology or ideas.  This is significant because it has a direct impact on their understanding.
• Go back and re-read any sections that do not make sense.
• Ask questions that you have about the characters, plot, or information in your reading selection. 
• Make connections to your to your experiences, to other books you have read, as well as to the events going on in the world.
• If reading fiction, you can also make connections to the characters, feelings and actions.

It’s not necessary to follow all of these strategies for every reading selection, but be sure to use one or two each time you read with your child.

After Reading Strategies

At this point there should be a lot to say, after reading strategies can be compared to a vibrant book club discussion.

• Talk about how your thinking has changed (I used to think that…, but now I’m thinking…)
• Analyze the story, the point of view, the characters actions and feelings.
• Retell interesting and important facts.
• Continue to make connections to yourself, the text and the world.
• Identify key details, main ideas and the author’s message.
• Share opinions

After reading strategies may take place directly after completing the book, but the conversation may linger on over time. Bedtime continues to be a favorite time for read-alouds, however, anytime of the day is just perfect for reading. A good book leaves you a lot to think and talk about.

By Laurie Gross and Amy Shapiro
My Learning Springboard, Inc.

Looking for a good scare or just trick-or-treating this Halloween? The Chicago Public Library shares their list of scary and not so scary reads for Halloween!

Books to Read Aloud Together

And Then Comes Halloween, By Tom Brenner, illustrated by Holly Meade, Candlewick, 2009

Boo to You, By Lois Ehlert, Beach Lane, 2009

Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin, By Tad Hills, Schwartz & Wade, 2009

The Hungry Ghosts, By Julius Lester, illustrated by Geraldo Valerio, Dial, 2009

Minerva Louise on Halloween, By Janet Morgan Stoeke, Dutton, 2009

My First Halloween, By Tomie dePaola, Grosset & Dunlap, 2008

Over in the Hollow, By Rebecca Dickinson, illustrated by Stephen Britt, Chronicle, 2009

Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night, By Anne Rockwell, illustrated by Megan Halsey, Walker, 2009

There Was an Old Monster!, By Rebecca, Adrian and Ed Emberley, Orchard, 2009

Books to Read on Your Own

All the Lovely Bad Ones: A Ghost Story, By Mary Downing Hahn, Clarion, 2008

Araminta Spookie series, By Angie Sage, Katherine Tegen

Celebrate Halloween with Pumpkins, Costumes and Candy, By Deborah Heiligman, National Geographic, 2007

The Crossroads, By Chris Grabenstein, Random House, 2008

Dirk Bones and the Mystery of the Haunted House, By Doug Cushman, HarperCollins, 2009

A Good Night for Ghosts, By Mary Pope Osborne, Random House, 2009

Half-Minute Horrors, Edited By Susan Rich, HarperCollins, 2009

More Bones: Scary Stories from Around the World, By Arielle North Olson and Howard Schwartz, illustrated by E. M. Gist, Viking, 2008

The Seer of Shadows, By Avi, HarperCollins, 2008

Tales of Terror from the Black Ship, By Chris Priestly, illustrated by David Roberts, Bloomsbury, 2008

Written by: Editorial Team, My Learning Springboard, Inc.

Reading with and to your child is not only enjoyable but has a positive impact on his/her learning.  While most parents would probably agree with this statement, many might not have any idea how to enhance this experience for their child and themselves.  We would say, make it social and get active.

At all ages reading is both an active and social process that occurs with every type of text.  Reading is a social process because we read to gain meaning that we then share in a variety of ways, with a variety of people, at a variety of times.  What’s important about this statement is that the process of talking about what you have read is essential to develop and build comprehension. This is not to say that comprehension doesn’t occur if discussion doesn’t occur, you just don’t know.  Talking about what has been heard during a read-aloud provides children an opportunity to share and verbally rehearse the content.  Providing “talk-time” gives you insight into what your child understands or perhaps misunderstands. This is actually where the real learning occurs.  These types of discussion need to happen before, during and after reading.  Often children are reluctant to engage in talking about the text, especially during reading, but it is essential.  Just-in-time communication is exceptionally powerful because it allows for immediate feedback, clarification and expansion of ideas.  As with anything, the more you do it, the better you get.  Next time you pick up a book to read to your child, be sure to provide “talk-time” and make it a social event.

An active reader is an engaged reader.  While we often think about providing opportunities for our children to be physically active, it is just as important for them to be mentally active while reading.  A passive reader might just be decoding words and not making meaning from the text.  An engaged reader is reading with “a wide-awake mind” and is gaining meaning from the words.  Active readers read with a purpose in mind, use strategies to get the most out of their reading and share what has been read with others.  As parents, you can promote active reading right from the start and the strategies that you instill will last a life-time.  Just like making reading a social process, being an engaged reader occurs before, during and after reading.  Read-alouds align with young children’s desire to make meaning from their reading and their world.  As parents, it’s easy to make read-alouds a strategic and active process.  To begin, set a purpose for reading that particular text (to hear a story or to gain information);  during reading provide stopping points to check for understanding or clarification of meaning of a word or phrase;  and after reading engage your child in a discussion of what was discovered during the read-aloud.

Active and social reading occurs with both informational and fictional text. All good readers, no matter what their age, are active and social readers.  Whatever you choose to read to your child or whatever your child wants to listen to is a perfect choice.  There is no one “right” text to read.  There are, however, many different and excellent strategies that parents can use at home during read-alouds to help their child make meaning from reading and become lifelong active and social readers, who share their insights about what they have read.

By Laurie Gross and Amy Shapiro
My Learning Springboard, Inc.