Help your Beginning Reader Read Better

At one magical instant in your early childhood, the page of a book – that string of confused, alien ciphers – shivered into meaning. Words spoke to you, gave up their secrets; at that moment, whole universes opened. You became, irrevocably, a reader. - Alberto Manguel

One of the proudest moments of a parent’s life got to be seeing their little one read independently. I can’t imagine how happy I will be when I see my little girl read. It will sure be a proud moment, but for kids this milestone is not very easy to achieve. Many kids get irritated when they don’t get things right. Though it is not advisable to force your child to read, they might get all the more irritated. There are a few things that parents can do. Before getting into a to-do list for parents, let me tell you what a beginning reader exactly is. Beginning readers are those who “rely on print more than illustrations to create meaning. They read a range of early-reader series, and recognize all alphabets and sounds. Your child still needs pictures on every page to help him/her read. Reads aloud without expressions and stops at difficult world.”

Help your little one to read:

• Read books that follow a pattern of based on a poetry. The familiar pattern help them read easily. Try Dr.  Seuss Beginning Beginners Series (One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish) or Julia Donaldson. 
• Enroll your child in a Book Reading program: A few good book reading/story telling programs are Reading Caterpillar and Buzzing Books in Delhi NCR, Club Lollipop and Little Reading Bees in Chennai, Treasure House in Hyderabad, Treasure Books in Mumbai and of course Bag Full Of Stories – My Little Chatterbox in Bangalore. Speak to the story teller who will help you pick the right books. 
  

• Read in front of your child. Children easily pick up things parents do.
• When you go book shopping for your child, make sure you take your child along. Don’t worry if your child picks up a lesser known book, make book shopping/picking fun. 
• Discuss the book with your child, discuss text and pictures both. As mentioned above beginning readers need pictures as much as text. 
• Read in an animated manner with lots of expressions and funny voices. This will not only make reading a fun thing to do together, it will also help your child learn about expressions and punctuations. While you read make sure you point on words which you are reading aloud. After you read the book make sure you discuss it with the child.
• Pick books which have your child’s favorite characters of things like Dora, Barney, Chhota Bheem and gang, Disney characters, princesses. Cars, trucks, dinosaurs etc. 
• Read advertisements, billboards etc. when you are driving or going for a walk or playing outside. 
• Make reading fun, don’t make it a task. Add a lot of fun to reading and when your child wants to stop, do not stress on continuing. 

Parents of Beginning readers often worry if their child is doing the right thing. Reading to your child helps them a lot, but many parents are clueless, they feel they cannot read in a way their child enjoys. Readings clubs are a great help as already mentioned… but reading needs to be a daily activity. When you read to your child, keep these points in mind:

 

• Patience has to be the key, give them time and if they want to read on their own… let them. Reading takes time to develop and if you force your child it won’t help. You should spend at least 20 minutes a day reading to your beginning reader. Choose books which have bigger fonts and less text. Pick Ladybird series level 1 books or Bob Books (by Scholastics) for Beginning Readers set 1.
• It might be irritating when your child picks the same book again and again. Let them re-read the book, reading similar patterns, words and stories help your child learn reading.
• When you child gets stuck at a word, do not read the word out immediately. Break the word and help them read the word with the help of sounds. 
• Read a passage to your child and then ask your child to repeat what you’ve read. Your child will repeat the passage with ease, because they have already heard you read the passage fluently. 

Pick the right book for your Beginning Reader:

Picking the right books for your child can be an extremely daunting task. It needs a lot of research, time and knowledge. Below are some tips which will help you pick the right books for your Beginning Readers:

• Pick books with Pattern/rhyming texts
• Pick Award winning books
• Don’t forget to share your own childhood favorites with your child
• Pictures and illustrations still hold a lot of importance hence pick books with vibrant pictures and illustrations
• As mentioned pick books which revolve around your child’s favorite thing/character.
• Take expert help, if you need. Check with expert storytellers or with the school.

Give the gift of reading to your child and help them explore the magical world of books.