Building Literacy Skills with Read-Alouds
Reading a story out loud to our kids before bed is a common ritual. It’s often part of a familiar routine that helps to settle them down and signals that the busy day is over and it’s time for rest. But reading out loud is not just calming; it’s also a great activity that boosts literacy skills in so many ways! And the best part is, you don’t need any special skills to turn story time into a brain-building session!
So, what happens when you read a book out loud to your kids? Let’s dive in!
For toddlers, reading out loud helps them build print awareness. They learn which way to hold a book, how to open the cover, and how to turn pages. Pretty basic stuff, but nobody is born with this knowledge, so it’s an important first step to reading. Then, as you point to the words you are reading, they will learn that we read words from left to right, and top to bottom. They might even start pointing to the words with their own finger as they pretend to read by themselves. Not only is this adorable, but it shows they have become aware of print! They are beginning to understand that those little lines and squiggles on the page mean something.
As they listen to a story, children also build phonological awareness, or the awareness of sounds in words. Think about Dr. Suess books, like The Cat and the Hat or Green Eggs and Ham. These books are not only fun and engaging, but they are filled with playful rhymes, memorable repetitions, and catchy alliterations that hold kids’ attention and tune their ears into the sounds of words. This awareness is essential for learning how to read and spell.
Read-alouds are also a great way to help kids learn vocabulary and sentence structure. In stories, they will hear words that they would not typically hear in regular conversations. Words like “glistening”, “mischievous” and “cygnet”. These words expand their mental dictionary, making it easier for them to read and understand in the future. Kids also get a chance to hear complex sentences that differ from how we talk in everyday conversations. This deepens their awareness of language and supports their ability to read and write when they are older.
Read-alouds can also build background knowledge, or information that they will need to understand other subjects. When reading books with your kids out loud, they might be learning the days of the week, the names of animals that live in the Arctic, or how to count. This knowledge builds a foundation that supports their ability to understand more complex concepts as they grow.
Read alouds build comprehension too. Kids learn about story structure (beginning, middle, and end), inferencing (Why do you think the character is sad?”), and prediction (“What do you think will happen next?”). As they answer your questions about the story, they are building their oral language skills, reasoning skills, and critical thinking skills. That’s not all! Stories are also great for holding kids’ attention and exercising their working memory, as they remember details from one page to the next.
So, when your child asks for another story, they might just be trying to stall their bedtime. But remember that every story you read out loud can help build your child’s literacy skills in small but powerful ways. Happy reading!
