The best way to increase beginning reading skills is to read to your child at least 15 minutes everyday. Discussing with your child how a fiction story is constructed (characters, time and place, story problem and solution) and a nonfiction story is constructed (titles, subtitles, facts, pictures, captions, charts) will tremendously aid in his/her ability to comprehend books. In addition, it exposes children to new words, builds vocabulary, and creates a sense of wonder.