“Every Child Ready to Read”®

By Barbara Brand, MA

“Read to your child.”

“ Reading aloud to children is the most important thing you can do.”

“Read to your child for at least 20 minutes a day.”

You may have heard variations of this very wise advice, but do you know WHY it is so important to read to your child? Forty years of research has proven that reading aloud is the best way to prepare your child to learn to read on his own. Because of the critical role that parents play in the development of their children's early literacy skills, the Public Library Association, the Association for Library Service to Children and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development have partnered to share this information with parents and caregivers in an initiative known as “Every Child Ready to Read @ your library”®.

A child's brain is most active from birth through age three. By this time, their brains are twice as active as an adult's brain! They are like sponges ready to soak up whatever is offered to them, and parents know when they are most receptive.

Children must master six essential skills before they can learn to read on their own, and they can learn all of these skills by being read to at least 20 minutes a day. For younger children, the 20 minutes may be broken down into smaller increments of five or ten minutes at a time, if necessary. Before a child can successfully learn to read, they must learn:

• Phonological awareness
• Vocabulary
• Print awareness
• Narrative skills
• Letter knowledge
• Print motivation

So, how does reading to your child develop these skills? Here are some tips to make sure your child is “ready to read”.

Phonological awareness : Babies brains are “wired” to learn new sounds. Reading nursery rhymes and singing songs to your baby are great ways to help them begin to learn to distinguish different sounds. Older children enjoy poetry, stories in rhyme and tongue twisters. All of these activities will enhance their phonological awareness.

Vocabulary: Use books to teach babies the names of objects by pointing and saying the name. All children learn new words by hearing them, and books offer “rare” words that are not used in normal, daily conversation. Continue reading to older children, even after they learn to read on their own, as they will increase their vocabulary and they will be better able to recognize new words that they encounter.

Print awareness: This is the knowledge that those “scribbles” on the page make up the words we speak; that a book begins at the front and ends at the back; that books are read from left to right and top to bottom; and that each book has an author and an illustrator. All of this can be learned by occasionally pointing to the words on the page and allowing your child to turn the pages. Sturdy board books make turning pages easier for babies and toddlers. Hand your older preschooler a book upside down and backwards and see if they turn it the correct way to “read” it. If they do, they have “print awareness”!

Narrative skills: This is the ability to see an order to things and to tell a story. A book has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Let your child tell YOU the story, after they have heard it several times.

Letter Knowledge: In order to recognize letters, your child must first be able to differentiate shapes. There are many picture books that teach shapes, and of course, alphabet books are the perfect introduction to letter knowledge! Children tend to have “favorite” letters (usually their initials!). Be sure to point these out when reading to them.

Print Motivation: This is my personal favorite, as it just means enjoying books and reading so much that you want to learn to do it yourself! YOU are the most important person in your child's life, so it is important that your child sees you reading, and she will naturally want to learn to read too! If you need ideas for good books to read, visit your local public library and your children's librarian will be happy to make suggestions. So, snuggle up with your child and read!

Every Child Ready to Read® @ your library® is a program of the Public Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children, divisions of the American Library Association.  Every Child Ready to Read ® @ your library® is a registered trademark and is used with permission.  

Resources and for more information www.pla.org/earlyliteracy.htm

Barbara Brand, MA, is a Youth Services Librarian at the Johnson County Library in Overland Park, KS and Publisher, Barbara Day's sister-in-law.