Reading to Youth

1
Reading to Youth

• Reading Aloud Books

2
Reading Aloud Books

• Why is it important to read to children?
• What are the benefits of reading aloud children?
• How do you read to children?
• How do you choose books to read aloud?
• Libraries and reading

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Why is it important to read aloud to children?

• Read aloud to infants stimulates their brains to
  create new learning pathways and strengthen
  existing ones (Shore, 1997).
• Reading to preschoolers is the most important
  thing families can do to prepare them for reading
  (Adams, 1990).
• Reading aloud provides an opportunity to nurture
  children.

4
What are the benefits?

• Research consistently demonstrates that the more
  children know about language and literacy before
  they arrive in school, the better equipped they
  are to succeed (National Research Council, 1999).
• The single most important activity for ensuring
  childrens reading success is reading aloud to
  children (Wells, 1985 Bus, van Ijzendoorn, and
  Pellegrini, 1995).

5
Nurturing as a benefit

• Children come to love reading, not just because
  they find books interesting, but because it is a
  joyful, shared experience with a parent or
  caregiver (zerotothree.org, 2002).
• Understanding the value of literacy as a means of
  communication, as well as coming to love
  book-reading as a time for emotional closeness,
  are accomplishments typical of the future good
  reader (National Research Council, 1999).

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How to Read

• Read Regularly
• Read for Fun
• Read Aloud
• Read Well Chosen Books
• Read To Bring Books to Life
• Read With Intent

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Read Regularly

• Shared book-reading affects emergent literacy and
  reading skills at older ages (Whitehurst and
  Lonigan, 1998).
• Childrens success in school can be linked to
  reading to children and listening to them read.
  The single most important activity for building
  knowledge required for eventual success in
  reading is reading aloud to children (Strong
  Families, Strong Schools, 1994).
• Reading together can be an important part of
  building desire to read and expectations for
  success through daily routines.

8
Reading for Fun

• The National Center for Education Statistics
  reports there is a direct correlation between
  reading for fun and achievement.
• Students who read for fun daily consistently
  score higher on reading proficiency tests (NCES
  National Assessment, 2001).
• 45.7 of 4th graders read for fun. Only 24.4 by
  12th grade (National Reading Report Card, 1998).

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Reading Aloud

• Children need to be able to read, to want to read
  and to love to read.
• Reading for fun and reading aloud can get them
  there.

10
Why Read Aloud?

• The more you read, the more you know
• The more you know, the smarter you grow.
• The smarter you are, the longer you stay in
  school
• The longer you stay in school, the more diplomas
  you earn and the longer you are employed thus
  the more money you earn in a lifetime
• The more diplomas you earn the higher your
  childrens grads will be in school.

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Read Well Chosen Books

• Books that match childrens interests and
  experiences
• Books with good quality stories and art
• Books with positive messages
• Books with rhythm and rich language
• Books that move swiftly to a definite end
• Books that have repetitive phrases

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Read to Bring Books to Life

• Use voices and expressions that match the mood of
  the story.
• Ask questions about what you see in the pictures.
• Talk about what might happen next in the story.
• Look for ways the child can get involved through
  repetition or sound effects.

13
Read With Intent

• Know the Reading Research
• The Steps Toward Reading
• The Skills of Competent Readers
• Put what you know to work
• Be a Role Model Let children catch you reading
• Know Your Audience

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Steps Toward Reading Emergent Literacy

• Eating, holding and handling books
• Being read to
• Again, again
• Living in a print rich environment
• Books, magazines, papers
• Seeing adult caregivers read

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Skills of Competent Readers

• Phonemic Awareness understanding that words are
  made up of individual sounds
• Phonics using phonemic awareness to break words
  into parts when learning to read
• Fluency the 1st step to reading comprehension
  understanding that a string of words come
  together to make sense
• Vocabulary an awareness of words and their
  meanings
• Comprehension understanding what is read

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Putting What You Know To Work

• Asking Questions
• Pointing Out Objects
• Dialogic Reading when the child becomes the
  storyteller
• Predicting what comes next
• Relating stories to our daily lives

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Library Approaches to Reading

• Storytime
• Reading Programs
• Readers Advisory
• Enrichment Activities
• Library Cards
• Family Time
• Nurturing Environment
• Community Partners

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Reading to Children _at_ the Library

• Going to the Library to Storytime develops a
  ritual, shows children you think reading is
  important and a fun way to spend time together
• Checking out books to read at home is one way to
  access books for free!
• Research shows Books make a difference . . .
  (Neuman, 1999)