Divine Mercy’s Family Literacy Night
How to read with your child
What is a “Read Aloud?”
Three reasons to read aloud to your child
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Good quality books build vocabulary. They are a source of “tier-two words” such as, fantastic, magical, perfect and ridiculous. Often they are a source of descriptive words that they may not hear in normal conversation. Hopefully, they can incorporate these words into their writing one day.
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It helps to build an understanding of structure of text. They begin to understand what make sense. When children are learning to read, they can hear the errors they make because they know what sounds right.
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It builds comprehension. This skill is especially important in grade three and up. Comprehension is one’s understanding of a text, how characters are feeling, hidden messages, knowing what an author is wanting you to think/feel. Being read to helps to build higher level thinking skills.
Demonstration of Read Aloud: Owen by Kevin Henkes
Read the title first. Also read the name of the author and illustrator. As adults we know which authors we enjoy to read. We share with our friends the names of our favourite books and authors. By telling your child the title of the book and names of its creators you are building your child’s literary preferences. They too may develop a love of a particular author or illustrator’s work.
Draw parallels between the text and you or your child’s own experiences. For example, “This story reminds me when I was a little girl, I used to try and hide my dog in the closet because I wanted him to sleep with me in my bed.” Predict what may happen next. How do you think they are going to get rid of Owen’s blanket?