Shared Reading
Shared reading involves either reading aloud to children or having older children read aloud to you and taking time to talk about the characters, plots and morals of the stories you have read. Jim Trelease, expert in child literacy said, "The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children."
Source
Rhymers are Readers
Research has shown that Nursery Rhymes are extremely important in a child's development. Experts in literacy and child development have seen that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they're four years old, they're usually among the best readers by the time they're eight. [Fox, M. (2001). Reading Magic. San Diego, CA: Harcourt.] When children hear nursery rhymes, they hear the sounds that vowels and consonants make and learn how to put them together as well as practicing pitch, volume, voice inflection and rhythm of language. Since nursery rhymes are patterns, they help children learn easy recall and memorization. Children also develop their mouth and tongue muscles by using different sounds in rhymes.
Mother Goose Rhymes:
Activities and Ideas
Make Predictions. As you read a story, ask your child what he or she thinks is going to happen next. After the story is over, ask you child if he or she can think of a different way the book could have ended.
Go on a reading campout. Build a tent in your living room or backyard. Ask your child to bring his or he favorite books and stuffed animals. Grab some flashlights and read together.
Find a recipe online or in a cookbook. Read the recipe out loud together and follow the instructions to cook something delicious.
When you open a new board game, read the instructions with your child.
Have a reading scavenger hunt. Choose a letter of the alphabet and talk about the sounds it makes. Go on a walk around your house or neighborhood and find as many things as you can that start with that letter.
Make your own book. Using photographs and your child's drawings, make a picture book together. Write the words to the story and then read your book together.
Put on a puppet show. Choose one of your child's favorite books and read it together. Then make puppets out of socks or brown lunch bags. Act out the story for family or friends.
Pause as you are reading a book to talk about how the characters may be feeling or what they could be thinking.
Let children pick their own books. Don't worry if they choose the same one over and over. It takes an adult six times to recognize a word; it takes even longer for an infant or toddler.
For babies to toddlers use facial and vocal expression as you talk and play with your child. When repeating rhymes or fingerplays, let children act them out as you say them.
For toddlers, 2-4 years old, help them use all of their senses during an activity. For example, if you go for a walk, have them listen to the sounds outside and feel different objects. Ask them open-ended questions about what they are seeing and feeling. When reading rhyming books, pause to let the child finish the word and tell the story.
When your children are older (4-5) let them hold items and be in charge of activities. Use different materials, such as dress-up clothes, puppets, and pictures to retell a child's favorite stories.
These ideas and activities are available
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