Benefits of Reading to ChildrenBenefits of reading to children! A balanced literacy model always includes reading aloud. Teachers know that the amount of time spent on reading to children is a great indicator of how well that child will perform in the classroom. Many students with poor vocabulary are targeted for reading help for children.
Listening to stories enhances rich vocabulary development and makes it one of the many benefits of reading to children. 7 Benefits of Reading to Children
1. Reading aloud is the foundation of literacy. This is number one of all the benefits of reading to children. It must be part of balanced literacy instruction. There are only two ways you can get more words into a child's head: ears and eyes. If the child comes from an environment where little printed material is available, they rarely hear lots of different vocabulary being used (such as is the case with children from poverty-stricken homes), then you have to get it into them. Reading to children will get them hearing enriched vocabulary, and when they revisit the story again and again during their reading time, they are working on their fluency skills. Through reading to children, you have made the text accessible by introducing unknown words. 2. Promotes comprehension and critical thinking skills. Your discussion, questioning and scaffolding of background knowledge can tailor a read aloud towards any specific reading skill. Allow the students to re-read the text many times after you have read it aloud. Even if the student cannot "read" all of the words on his or her own, remember that you have already made the text accessible by reading it aloud. The child can tell the story to a buddy from the pictures, which is working on summarizing (a key comprehension skill). Reading to children is a bonding experience that should be pleasurable for both students and teachers (or moms and dads). To get children reading and improve literacy rates statistics, they have to be read to first. If you miss this important fact, you have lost a golden opportunity that is one of the benefits of reading to children. 4. Model oral reading fluency and techniques. Children will emulate what they hear, and that includes how they are read to. Teacher modeling of how to scoop phrases, use expressive intonation and fluently pause at punctuation is invaluable. Reading help for children who lack fluency needs to focus on these aspects of reading, not just speed. 5. It makes quality literature accessible for all students. There are many students whose homes do not have much literature in them. You need to fill that void through exposure, and make it fun for them. You have to get them on board with you, because students from poverty stricken homes do not count reading as their number one priority. They are concerned with where they will sleep tonight, if mom or dad is ever coming home, if they will have dinner and breakfast tomorrow, if someone will be there when they get home...that's your competition when you ask them to focus on reading, writing, math...anything. So make authentic literature accessible for these kids through read alouds. Think about how we converse with each other. Our spoken language is much different than the language used in books (and be sure to tell your students that!). This is one of the benefits of reading to children that you can't get with just talking to them! Your students will encounter a richer, more expanded vocabulary through reading than they will any other way. If you teach them how to clarify the meaning (a reciprocal teaching strategy) of unknown words and phrases through read alouds, you are providing them with a lifelong tool they will use when they are ready to step out more onto their own. 7. It introduces a variety of genres that students might never be exposed to. Reading aloud to children is not only confined to a fictional picture book. There are so many reading instruction strategies today for reading aloud. Just within the category of picture books you can find mysteries, historical non-fiction, poetry, biographies, fantasy, narratives, science fiction, science non-fiction, and more.
To develop a love of reading, we must make an interactive read aloud a part of our literacy blocks.
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