WHY READ ALOUD TO CHILDREN ?
“Children are made readers on the laps
of their parents."
Emilie Buchwald
Mr. N.TENZIN
Head Librarian
WHAT IS READ ALOUD ?
A read aloud is a planned oral reading of a book or
print excerpt, usually related to a theme or topic of
study.
Reading aloud helps to develop a child’s early literacy.
It is one of the most valuable gifts you can give your
child. In the simple act of reading to children, you lay
the foundation for their educational success..
“The single most important activity for building the
knowledge required for eventual success in reading is
reading aloud to children”
( Nation of Readers 1985)
DO YOU KNOW?
 Kids who are read to, do better in school
 Children who learn to read early are the
ones who are read to by parents, siblings
or other caregivers
 A 5 year old child has a speaking
vocabulary of approx. 2000 words
 Child learns by imitation, if they see you
read, they will too
 Children like to read what they
themselves choose to read, not what
others choose for them
 Students from Gr.3 to 12 learn about
3,000 new words a year. They learn the
majority of new words incidentally while
reading
 Reading is an accrued skill
Hart & Risley, T.R. (1995)
In a typical hour, the average child would hear:
Hour
Week
Welfare:
616 words
61,000 words
Working class:
1,251 words
125,000 words
Professional:
2,153 words
215,000 words
BENEFITS OF READING ALOUD
 Establishes a bond of love
 Develops the child’s listening skills
 Stimulates the child’s imagination,
creativity and curiosity
 Builds background knowledge and
vocabulary
 Develops the child’s attention
span
 Better performance in school
 Appreciates a larger, richer world
 Becomes a part of family heritage
 Develops a life long love of reading
TIPS FOR RAISING READERS
• Furnish your home with a variety of
reading materials
• Take your children to the library and
bookstore and give them the
opportunity to choose their own books
• Make reading aloud a natural part of
your family activity
• Set a regular reading time with your
child and make it a routine, it becomes
a habit later
• Limit your children’s TV viewing in an
effort to make time to other
activities, but never use TV as reward
for reading.
• Be a role model
TIPS FOR RAISING READERS
• Read 20 minutes everyday and see the
positive effects
• Reading to children at bedtime often
works well. Books are very relaxing
and give the child happy thoughts
before they sleep
• Parent’s patience is enormously
important, we cannot raise the
readers overnight
• Some children love reading about the
same characters, if that is what your
child likes, choose
several short
books in a series or a longer chapter
book
• When your child is in Gr.4-6
encourage them to read informational
and biography books
HOW TO READ ALOUD
Prepare
 Preview the book before you read it to the children
 Book selection is very important. Think about your child’s age,
development level and interests. That will help you choose the
book and what questions you want to ask..
Before You Read a Story
 Make sure everyone is comfortable
 Show the cover and read the title, Author & Illustrator of
the book
 Give some hints about the book
 Ask some of these questions:
• What do you think this book is about?
• Have you ever read any thing similar to this book?
•
Make predictions based on what you see in the book
HOW TO READ ALOUD
During a story
 Use stopping point
 Change your voice to fit the mood or action
 Add information or change words to understand more words
and explain the meaning of new words
 Ask the child to make predictions about the plot, the
characters, and the setting
 Allow the child to ask questions or make comments
 Share your own thoughts about the story
After you read a story




What was your favorite part of the story & why?
What did you like best about the story?
Did you like how the book ended?
If you could write a new ending, what would it be?
THE DO’s and DON’Ts of READ-ALOUD
DO’s
 Begin reading as young as possible
 Use rhymes and songs to stimulate infant’s language and
listening
 Read and reread predictable/repetitive books
 Allow your child to insert key words/phrases when rereading
 Insert your child’s name and family members’ names in books
 Start with picture books, and books with few sentences on
the page then gradually move to books with more and more
text and build to chapter books, informational books and
novels.
 Allow your child to get involved (hold book, turn pages etc.)
 If you are reading a picture book, make sure the children can
see the picture easily and talk about the picture
 If the chapter is long or if you don’t have time each day to
finish an entire chapter, find a suspenseful spot at which to
stop. Leave the audience hanging; they will be counting the
minutes until the next reading
THE DO‘s and DON’TS of READ-ALOUD
Don'ts
Read stories that you don’t enjoy. Your
dislike will show in the reading
Continue a book that is a poor choice
Select a book that many children have
heard or seen on television
Be fooled by awards. They don’t guarantee
good read aloud
Choose books that are heavy with dialogues
as they are difficult for reading aloud and
listening
Read when your child is irritated
“You may have tangible wealth untold;
caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer
than I you can never be I had a mother
who read to me”.
By Strickland Gillilan
“Read me a story,
Please mama read me to sleep.”
“But what kind of story, my dear?”
“Read any story and I will go to
sleep,
As long as I know you are near.”
SUCCESS STORY
Dear Mom,
You did so many things for me when I was growing up. May be the
ones I remember best seemed pretty ordinary to you-like
reading to me every night in bed. I remember thinking that Dr.
Seuss taught me what loyalty was when Horton sat on those
eggs to hatch them. Henry Huggins and Nancy Drew seemed
like kids down the street. You made me feel important and
loved with everything you did. For all times I forgot to tell you
then, thanks, Mom. Janie
Dear Mom,
When you read to us, I just took it for granted. Now that I have
my own children, I find that I’m doing the same thing. Its sort
of like handling down the “magic” Magic of reading, When we
pass on our love of books. It's a torch passed from one
generation to the next. Merry
STAGES OF READING
•Talk with babies
•Use gesture/Print awareness/ Labeling
Touch and feel books/picture books

Stories with animals that talk/pop up
books

•Fairy tales/folk tales
•Chapter books/informational
book/Biography
Conclusion
Spend countless hours of quality, enjoyable
time with your children. You light their
reading fire and turn them in to life long
readers and life long learners.
If we work together, our combined expertise
and enthusiasm could make every home a
reading home and every child a reader.