When we think about raising a reader, we often imagine a child hugged in bed, bathed in a soft glow of night light, listening to the parent reading aloud of history.
This scene Is magical. But after more than 10 years of studying, how children become readers and conducting interviews with experts from the ability to read and write and develop a child, I learned that powerful reading raising movements are limited to sleep.
Instead, you can make them happen at any time of the day, in forgotten small moments weaved in family life – mainly without a book in hand.
Occupying everyday Reading and writing options are importantBecause there is a strong reading in elementary school A powerful predictor of long -term success. Children who read well early are more likely Stay at school longerIN Better jobsAND Earn more money.
Here are five things that parents who bring up the successes of readers do differently early:
1. They treat the baby as a conversation
Before their children can talk, these parents talk.
When their toddler Coos or cotton, they react with real words – making eye contact, smiling, meeting a moment. They have “conversations”, tuning to the sound and look of the child, and then responding to the words, incentives and stop to wait for the child's response.
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This loving forward interaction and return, known as serve and come backbuilds the basis of language development and healthy brain architecture, According to the Harvard center about a developing child.
And increases learning next to the connection. Research shows This dynamic, responsive conversations in the first two years of a child have prepared the ground for reading and writing skills, such as expressive vocabulary and name and knowledge.
2. They ask many questions – and wait for answers
These Parents ask Their children questions at home, in the car, while dealing with matters:
- “What is this?”
- “Do you see a dog?”
- “Ready to rotate the page?”
Simple? Yes. But powerful. As the children grow, the questions may become more complex.
Studies show Children whose parents ask more questions – and leave room for answers – build stronger dictionaries and deeper knowledge according to small children. They understand and use more words that will come back to reading comprehension well.
Power is not only asked. This gives children a chance to answer. This is what makes them think and when it happens.
3. They talk about letter sounds – not only about names or shapes
Experienced parents Talk about letters. They find them at the wild-on street marks, in recipes, on shirts-I invite children to notice them. They tell by writing letters and notes in front of their children, indicating how they create letters. They hold letter blocks and magnets for everyday game.
Here is a real creator of differences: they talk to children about the sounds that create letters, not just their shapes and names. If they notice an egg cardboard in a grocery store or at home, they can trace E using the fingertip and say: “This is the letter E. One long line, three short lines across. E says” eh “as in an egg.”
One examination They stated that parents reported that using an average of 14 different types of materials to expose their children to letters. But Observation tests It shows that even the most intense parents do not combine letters with sounds as often as they think in everyday conversation.
To read, learning how to send words is required. Parents who talk about the sounds of letters help their children understand that the letters are simply speech captured on the site.
4. They play with words
Think: “Peter Piper chose a beak of marinated peppers” or “sells sea sea sea.”
Rhymes, songs, language tweezers and a stupid word is not just fun – they help children hear and play with sounds in words. And this is necessary for reading. Before children can match the sounds, they must clearly hear these sounds.
This type of listening does not happen by accident. It grows when children have many easy, everyday chances to notice, compare, segment, mix and exchange sounds.
5. They take out legible moments all day
Studies show A clear connection between the amount of early reading of parents' books with children and children later vocabulary and understanding skills.
But the parents of the most avid and successful readers do not spare reading on sleep. Divide books and other text during meals, bathing times, waiting times – everyone time.
It opens more hours and the possibility of cultivating language skills and reading skills wherever you are. Street signs, menu and product labels can be a worthy material.
And reading earlier that day, when children are often more energetic more conversations sparksQuestions and learning.
The more often children hear, see and talk about words, the more they will be ready to read them.
Maya Payne Smart He is an early supporter of reading skills, a mother teacher involved in closing the gap in reading and the author “Reading for our lives: urgency of early reading and writing skills and action plan to help the child“(Avery/Penguin Random House). He serves as an associate lecturer at the Marquette University and has a scientific degree from Harvard and Northwestern. Find her in Mayasmart.com And follow her Instagram.
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