Resources for Raising Good Readers

Early childhood literacy begins at a very young age. Most children learn to hold a book upright, track words from left to right, and begin to distinguish between graphemes (letters of the alphabet) and their corresponding phonemes (letter sounds) before they ever start school. This is why reading to children from birth is so important. It helps them to develop these skills and also to develop their vocabulary and reading comprehension skills.

Get Ready to Read is a great website full of resources for helping preschool aged children develop early literacy skills.

The U.S. Department of Education also has great resources for parents, including a booklet called "Helping Your Child Become a Reader". 
Early reading skills are divided into two categories: fluency and reading comprehension. Reading instruction in grades K-2 typically focus on helping children develop skills in these two areas. Older children continue to develop reading comprehension skills in grades 3-12, developing progressively more sophisticated ability to analyze and interpret textual meaning.

Reading Fluency
Fluency refers to a reader's ability to figure out or "decode" the words in a text. Use the strategies below to help practice and develop fluency skills. 

Beginning Strategies
  • Read Alouds - Reads to the child while the child follows along. This strategy helps introduce basic book knowledge (which way to hold the book, how to track words from left to right, etc) and helps child begin to become familiar with common site words (and, the, etc).
  • Choral Reading - Read with the child together aloud in chorus. This strategy allows practice of site words while reading remains fluid, allowing the child to remain engaged with the story. Children naturally skip over or stumble through words they don't know while still developing familiarity with common site words.
  • Echo Reading - Read each sentence, pausing to allow the child to subsequently read each sentence again after you. This strategy allows child to practice new/difficult words in a non-intimidating manner.
  • Predictable Texts - Use texts with rhyming and/or pictures that support the text in a way that helps child figure out most of the words. This strategy teaches child to use context clues to figure out words. Dr. Seuss books are particularly good for this, for example.
Advanced Strategies
  • Shadow Reading - Provide support as needed to the child as he/she reads. Help with difficult words and indicate if a word is skipped or words are superimposed. Use this strategy for more advanced readers, to help them transition to reading independently.
  • Readers Theater - Read together with the child, each taking on responsibility for a different role. You each read your parts with animation as if acting them out. This strategy teaches child to use inflection and makes reading more appealing to children who are not as self motivated.

Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension refers to a reader's ability to make sense and meaning out of what has been read. Use the strategies below to help practice and develop reading comprehension skills. 

Beginning Strategies
  • Creating the Images - Cover the images from a children’s book or read a book with no images and ask the child to draw images to go with the text. This strategy teaches child to use textual clues and pay attention to detail.
  • Creating the Text - Cover/hide all of the words in a book with very illustrative images and ask the child to make up the story that goes with the images (could be just spoken or written for more advanced kids). Ask questions like, “what do you think this story is about? why do you think that?” and encourage complex sentences and logical sequencing. This strategy teaches child to use picture clues.
  • Predicting - Read together and periodically ask the child what he or she thinks will happen next. Ask why and ask the child to site specific evidence from the story so far. Another way to use this strategy is to make a blank book for the child by stapling together several sheets of paper folded in half at the crease. Read the first few pages of a good children’s book together that the child is not familiar with and then ask him/her to finish the story in the blank book based on what he/she knows from the flow of the story. This strategy helps child practice picking out important textual clues needed to predict what will happen next.
  • Dramatization - Assign a character from a story you read together to the child and the periodically ask the child questions about the story from the character’s perspective. The child should answer in character. “What do you think your character will do next?” “Why do you think your character did that?” “How do you think your character feels about that?”. This strategy helps the child focus on comprehending the story from a specific perspective, picking out clues in the text specific to that perspective.
  • Click HERE to see a teacher use a strategy that helps children identify what characters are feeling based on textual and pictorial evidence.

​Advanced Strategies
  • Letter Writing - Read a story together and then ask child to write a letters from the point of view of the author, character, illustrator, etc referencing that happened in the story. Alternatively, give them a letter you have written (or prompt) from the perspective of one character and ask them to respond from the perspective of another character. This strategy helps the child think about the intentions of the author, illustrator or particular characters based on clues in the text.
  • Double Journal Entry - Have child create a journal consisting of two columns “Quote from Book” on the left and “Reader’s Response” on the right. Assign specific quotes from the book and/or ask child to identify some of their favorite quotes from the book. Write these in the left column. Leave plenty of room for responses in the right column. Ask child to write responses to each quote that address “why did this happen?” “how did you feel about this?” “what will happen next?”. Ask them to justify their response using textual clues, “why do you think this?”. You can take down dictation for children with less advanced writing skills. Teaches child to use picture and context clues to analyze the meaning of the text in a more sophisticated manner.
  • Color Coded Post Its - Use Post its to mark textual evidence that indicates who/characters, what/plot, when & where/setting, why/plot in a story. Use one color for each category. Helps child pick our key details. Begins to build a foundation for note taking. As child becomes more proficient, switch to writing details from the story on the cards (color coded) and then use the collection of sticky notes write a summary of the story after reading it. The ability to read a story, pick out key details, and write a concise summary is key to strong academic reading skills.
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More Resources

Get Ready to Read - Early Literacy Strategies for Preschool Aged Children.
Purdue Online Writing Lab, works cited page - useful to help children learn how to cite various sources in their writing.

References

White, Connie L. Associate Professor, Elementary Education, California State University Northridge. 2015.
Tompkins, Gail E. Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach. 6th ed. Pearson Education, 2013. E-book.