Family Literacy Night Notes

I helped plan and run a family literacy night at our school last week. It was a great success and a lot of fun. We had classes for families, a "book walk" (like a cake walk but the winners got free books) and a library open house. There were free cookies to decorate at the end. It was a great celebration.

Here are the notes from the class I taught about reading aloud to your children and shared reading. There is a lot more I could have said, but this is a good summary:
Benefits of reading: (Why read aloud?)
In a research article, titled What Reading Does for the Mind, the following benefits were found for reading:
*You become a better reader.
*You have a larger vocabulary.
*It usually improves your spelling.
*It increases your knowledge about the world and your practical knowledge (day to day living).
*It improves your ability to speak and communicate.
*It increases reading comprehension.
*It can improve IQ and make you smarter.
*It slows the process of aging and decreases memory loss.
Plus, reading is FUN!!! And reading together with your child helps them be more successful in school but also strengthens your relationship with your child.


How do I read aloud?
**Read in your native language.
**Have your child sit close to you.
**Choose a book that you’ll both enjoy (perhaps take turns picking.)
**Stop after a few pages to talk about the book:
*What is happening? Who are the characters?
*What’s your favorite part so far?
*Talk about words your child doesn’t know.
*Would you act like that character?
*Could that/would that happen in real life?
*Has anything like this happened to you?
**Kids are never too old to be read to.
**Picture books are valuable even for older kids who can already read.
**Make it fun! You can use voices. You can act out a favorite part. But most importantly, don’t try too hard to make it educational… Enjoy being with your child sharing a book. The learning will happen naturally.



What is shared reading?
Shared reading is when an adult and child read out loud together. This most often occurs when reading a favorite book that you have read together many times. Young children will often naturally begin to chime in the parts they know.

Why do shared reading?
Shared reading is fun!
Shared reading can help your child understand what they are reading. If they are not working too hard to sound out the words, it allows them to focus more on what the story or poem means.
Shared reading is also a great way to lend support to your child if they are trying to read a book that is just a little bit hard for them. You read along with them and provide help.
Shared reading is also a good tool to work on building fluency. As you read aloud together, your child will try to read at the same speed that you are. You will need to slow down a little and read in chunks (3 or 4 words at a time). Model for them what good reading sounds like and they will try to copy you.

Examples of shared reading:
*Reading a poem or nursery rhyme aloud together.
*Having your child chime in on a repeated line in a story. For example, in the Three Little Pigs, they might read along with you the lines: “Little Pig, little pig, let me come in.” “Not by the hair of my chinny-chin, chin.”
*If your child checks out a book from the library or brings home a book that is just a little bit difficult, you could read aloud a paragraph or page and then have then share read it with you.
*On homework papers, you might share read the directions.

“You don’t have to read every day—only on the days you eat.” --Proverb