Why Read-Alouds?
Three Reasons Why Reading to Children is Important
Reading to Children Increases Interest and Motivation
When children are engaged in enjoyable read-alouds, their motivation and interest in reading increases. They are more likely to view reading as a pleasurable activity, become motived to read more, and become better readers. Dr. John Guthrie’s years of research at the University of Maryland strongly indicates that interest and motivation in reading positively impact reading achievement.
“Motivational and Cognitive Contributions to Students' Amount of Reading,” Kathleen Cox and John Guthrie, Contemporary Educational Psychology, 2001
Find out what interests your child. Is he or she curious about bugs, pets, space, trucks, nature, or wild animals? Look for books and articles about those interests. Reading about the child’s interests will prompt conversation, build background knowledge, and encourage more reading.
Notice your child’s reaction to stories. Does the story need to be short or is the child able to attend to a longer tale? What type of story is a big hit? Is your child attracted to funny stories, family stories, fairy tales, fractured fairy tales, or realistic stories? Select stories that your child enjoys and talk about those stories.
Reading to Children Develops Vocabulary
Reading to children introduces them to rich vocabulary that they most likely do not encounter in daily life. Dr. Dominic Massaro’s research found that children listening to a picture book were about three times more likely to experience hearing a new word compared to ordinary speech interaction. When children hear and discuss words found in a read aloud, they are prepared to understand these words when they encounter these words later when reading on their own.
“Two Different Communication Genres and Implications for Vocabulary Development and Learning to Read,” Dominic Massaro, Journal of Literacy Research, 2016
Point out and discuss interesting words when you are reading aloud. Nonfiction books and articles often include words that might be unfamiliar, but stories also include words, such as embarrassed, incredible, emergency, or determined, that you could discuss. With your child, you could act out words, such as glare, delighted, grouchy, or sway. Sometimes unfamiliar phrases, such as saved the day, feeling blue, or have a big heart, are also something to explore.
Reading to Children and Discussing the Content Promotes Reading Comprehension
Discussing the story or nonfiction article read aloud helps children develop deeper understanding of a story or the information found in a nonfiction article. This is accomplished by avoiding simple questions, such as What is the boy’s name? or How many pigs were in the story? Comprehension is encouraged by engaging children in conversation that requires thinking.
Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade, U.S. Department of Education, 2010
Encourage thinking about stories by discussing ideas with your child. You could use prompts, such as:
What do you think might happen next?
Why do you think this happened?
What do you think ___ (the character’s name) should do?
What do you think it meant when ___ (the character) said ___ (phrase from the story)?
Does this story remind you of another story? Tell me about it.
Encourage thinking about nonfiction in the same way by sharing your ideas and encouraging your child to share ideas. You could use prompts, such as:
What is something important that you learned?
What else do you know about this?
What else would you like to know?
What other questions do you have?
Reading to children and having conversations about what was read must be valued as an important contributor to literacy development.
Research proves it, and we must do it!