There's More to Reading than Reading

How to Help Elementary Students Become Fluent, Successful Readers

Aug 28, 2009

It's a great thing to read a book, but it's another, even more exciting thing to read past the words and discover meaning and a love for reading.

Many kids begin kindergarten already knowing how to read. They can sound out words and read entire books. Others barely know their alphabet. By second grade or so, most students can read (unless there is an underlying delay or learning issue) and are beginning to read past the words to discover meaning. Some students will love reading, others will balk at each reading session and do it only when required. Either way, there are ways to help them become better readers who understand the meaning and not just the words.

How to Instill a Love of Reading

Model, model, model. Kids who love to read usually see their parents reading. They've been read to from an early age and books are normal furnishings in their homes. Trips to the library where a child can choose his or her own books are not only fun, but also provide cost free opportunity to find out what the child really likes. He or she can try different genres, like animal books or spooky mysteries, whatever perks some interest. Parents should take some time to read with their children after a trip to the library. Whether it's independent reading side by side, or sharing the same book together, setting aside that time shows a child that reading is important enough to make special time for.

Strategies for Increasing Reading Comprehension

Some of the very early readers understand everything they read, some don't get most of it, they are just sounding out words. No matter the age, it's important readers grasp the content of their material, otherwise, it just becomes a decoding exercise. These reading strategies can help.

While parents read with their children, they can ask questions to develop comprehension. Ask about the story, the illustrations, the way the plot relates to every day life. Parents can have the child predict what may come next; it's okay if the prediction isn't right as long as children are using clues from the material. A child can choose a favorite character he'd like to be and explain why. He can get up and act out a piece of the story or even write a continuing chapter or draw an illustration to depict his favorite scene.

It's important to not only talk about what happens in a book, but why it happens. Questions should be open ended and not have simple "yes/no" answers. A fun way of teaching comprehension is to have the child ask the adult questions, and the adult should answer some of them incorrectly and let the child correct the answer. Kids love that!

Make Reading a Lifelong Skill

As children grow and their skills increase, the type of books and how they read will change and develop. Some kids will read one book at a time, others may have two or three going at once. If it works for that child, it's alright. Some will take a book wherever they go, others may read only in a certain spot at a certain time. Again, let the child have some ownership and develop his or her own reading characteristics. The parent still has the job of helping with book selection, discussing books, and even with an older child, reading time can still be shared. Make reading fun and important, and children will thrive as lifelong readers.

The copyright of the article There's More to Reading than Reading in Primary School is owned by Heather Legg. Permission to republish There's More to Reading than Reading in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.