How can Half an Hour a Day Change Your Child’s Life?

By reading with your child - everyday. But…how do you do this?

Set aside a regular time for reading with your child. It doesn’t matter how old your child is, whether he is three or thirteen. Time spent reading with your child will become a treasure for both of you.

Let your child choose the book. Or, present your child with options and let your child choose. If you choose the book to read, you may be met with resistance.

Take turns reading the pages. Comment on any illustrations you see. Discuss the story and model predictions; what will [character] do next? What will be the result if [event] happens?

Did you know that if your child struggles with 3% of the words in the text, it’s going to impede the child’s comprehension? When you come to a word that your child doesn’t know, or if he reads the word incorrectly, instead of correcting it for him, simply say, “Try that word again.”

Encourage your child to use what he or she knows of phonics to say the word. Remind him or her about the pronunciations of unusual spellings, silent letters, or the use of prefixes and suffixes.

If after a second look he reads it correctly, praise him! If he still doesn’t get it, then tell him the word and what it means. But make a note to write this word down. Find opportunities for the rest of the day, or the next day, to use the word. Make a game of it and laugh when using it.

After a while, you’ll collect a bank of words that your child struggled with. Again you can turn these unfamiliar words into word games to help your child increase his vocabulary.

When you’ve been reading a book together that takes more than one session reading, every time you come back to it, ask your child a question. You could ask:

• What has this book been about so far?

• What has been your favorite part? Why?

• What did we read about last time?

By asking questions you’re giving your child a chance to summarize the events in the story. This is good practice for the child to recall, sequence, and review the plot.

You can also ask comparative questions such as:

• How does [this character] compare to [character from another book]?

• How are the events in this story like the things that happened in [another book]?

Many standardized tests ask students to compare the characters and plots in two different texts, so this is also good skill practice.

Be aware of your child dropping the end of a word, especially if it has the suffix -ed. This suffix is pronounced in one of three ways; it could be a soft /t/, soft /d/, or said like the name “Ed”. The child may prefer to drop it instead of trying to figure out how to say the ending.

Above all, make reading together fun. Laugh while you learn and notice when your child reads well. Helping your child learn to read well prepares him or her for a lifetime of reading, and it creates memories that both of you will cherish.