ABC's of Reading

ABC’s of Reading

A  ALLOW time each day to spend reading with your child.

B  BE a reading model! Let your child see you reading.

C  CREATE an interest in reading by reading aloud books suitable to your child’s age and interest.

D  DO start out with short stories—gradually build your child’s attention span.

E  ENRICH your child’s learning experiences through books.

F  FOCUS your child’s attention on the book you are reading by showing and discussing pictures.

G  GLANCE through the book before you read it to your child so that you are familiar with it.

H  HAVE your child sit close to you when you are reading so that you are sharing the book.

I  INCREASE your child’s listening and speaking vocabularies by explaining unfamiliar words.

J  JOIN your public library so that you have access to a variety of books.

K  KEEP your child’s books in view in easy-to-get places.

L  LISTEN to your child tell stories from books, even if he/she can’t read all the words in the book.

M  MENTION the author and title of the book each time you read to your child.

N  NURTURE your child’s imagination by selecting different kinds of stories such as rhyming books, fairy tales, animal stories, mysteries, and adventures.

O  OPEN the door to the world of reading. Read daily to your child.

P  PASS ON the pleasure of reading by building memories your child can treasure.

Q  QUOTE the characters in a story meaningfully by changing the tone of your voice.

R  READ, read, read!

S  STIMULATE interest before reading by sharing experiences.

T  TALK about the books you have read together.

U  USE expression when reading aloud so that the story will come to life.

V  VISIT a book store often and give books as presents.

W  WHENEVER you can, create…

X  EXCITEMENT about reading: it’s great.

Y  YOU can encourage reading with…

Z Z EST! Be excited and the books will do the rest.

--Author Unknown