Read aloud

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, September 2017; written by Ann Marie Meiresonne.

“The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children. It is a practice that should continue through the grades.” – Commission on Reading & U.S. Department of Education

I want to encourage all caregivers to read aloud. I personally understand the great happiness of reading aloud to children and also see the huge educational benefits of spending time reading aloud with children. Not only is the immense joy of sharing a story or reading to learn about a subject rewarding, but the foundation is laid for literacy achievement for the child.

Reading aloud should be not limited to just infants and toddlers but into grade school, middle school, even high school students should be read to for modeling fluency, comprehension, pronunciation and a good story. Emerging readers, struggling readers, and proficient readers all benefit from being read to.

If reading aloud is new to you I encourage you to take the first step and make the time. Set a goal for each day to read aloud. I have heard of a fisherman who read to his children over the marine radio and a grandfather who read popular mechanics to his grandchild. A child being read to before bedtime and one being read to while potty training.

If you do read to your younger child but not your grade school or older kids try choosing a family read to share a fun title. Some kids benefit from coloring or drawing while a caregiver is reading so their minds can absorb while the hands are busy.

Finding the reading material is as easy as browsing your child’s bookshelf, browsing the library or a bookstore and asking a librarian or bookseller. Read picture books as well as chapter books and middle grade novels. Online there are reading lists for suggestions or on the library’s webpage under Novelist. Find your old favorite and read. Enthusiasm in sharing a memorable book with a child expresses pleasure in reading, which is so foundational in building a reader.

Using our Alaska Digital library resource allows you to download eBooks as well as audiobooks, another great way to enjoy a good read aloud.

Remember when you are reading to set the stage for the book, read the title and discuss the cover picture together. Slow speech down from an adult clip as children need to be able to process the new words and information. Maintain color in your voice by reacting to loud and soft words to keep the text interesting. And most of all have fun!

Some of my memorable read alouds are Hi Pizza Man by Virginia Walter, Dinosaur Train by John Gurney, Charlotte’s Web by EB White, The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes , The Lighthouse Family by Cynthia Rylant, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling to name only a few.