Learning is fun and should be done at all stages of life. To help promote family literacy, here are some tips from ABC Life Literacy Canada for children at different reading levels to accommodate and develop everyone’s ability.
Reading with Infants
• It’s never too early to read to your children.
• Select books with simple, bold, colourful shapes. These books usually have one or two lines of print on a page and each page has repeated phrases. Hearing words over and over helps children become familiar with them.
• Choose nursery tales, songs and stories about family life that have a simple sentence structure.
• Let the child pretend to read the story. Allow him/her to hold the book and turn the pages as the adult points to the pictures.
• Make the story come alive by using different voices and facial expressions. When a child hears different sounds, not only does the story become more fun, but this also helps the child develop critical listening skills.
Reading for the beginner
• By reading to children several times a day, you can actually make a positive impact on their future academic success.
• Provide a comfortable reading space for the child with easy access to books. A place with good lighting, away from distractions, and a variety of books is ideal.
• Point to the words on the page as you read them. This will teach the child that reading goes from left to right, and will also help stimulate word recognition.