Tips for Reading With Your Child
1. Use the five finger rule to choose a book.
- Help your child start off right by choosing the book that is appropriate for them. Have your child open up a selected book to any page and start reading. For every word that he does not know, have him hold up one finger. If he gets to five fingers before he is done reading the page, the book is too hard. If he doesn't hold up any fingers, the book is probably too easy. If he holds up two or three fingers, the book is probably a good fit for his instructional level.
- When your child comes to an unfamiliar word, ask him what word would make sense. Encourage your child to stop and appreciate the importance of illustrations in the story and how they can help him figure out the meaning of a new word.
- Challenge your child to figure out unfamiliar words, but be sure to give the word before frustration occurs. Also, after your child reads the story, do not be afraid to read the story aloud to your child so that he can enjoy it without interruptions.
- You can make sure that your child appreciates the importance that reading holds in your family by making it a daily priority. Whether you read for 10 minutes before bedtime or an hour after dinner, make sure that reading is occurring every day in your household and that you share this set aside time with your child.
- Find a quiet place where you and your child can enjoy reading without the hustle and bustle of everyday life rearing its ugly head. Finding a peaceful place to spend some time reading will help secure a promising escape where your child can avoid anything else that may be bothering him.
10 Steps for Reviewing a Children's Book
1. Check the illustrations.
- Make sure that the illustrations are free from stereotypes and that the characters from book to book vary in ethnicity. Stereotypes often dehumanize characters and a variety in ethnicity helps to promote a child's views of equality.
- Even if a book shows diversity visually, there may be subtle messages that are implied. For example, make sure that children of color are not always depicted as being from low-income families. Also, look at who typically causes a problem and solves it. Ensure that there is variety in roles that are played by women and men. Make sure that women are not always the housewives and men always the bread winners.
- Make sure that there are no negative value judgments placed on a particular culture. Also, evaluate whether or not the book depicts diversity among people that are within a certain culture.
- Does the book display a balance of power among characters? In your book collection, is there variety in who plays the central roles and who are supporting characters?
- Evaluate the characteristics of the hero(es) in the book. Ask yourself whose interests the hero is serving. Does your collection include heroes of color, various incomes, and those with disabilities?
- Can your child see himself reflected in the families in your book collection and their ways of life? Do the books reinforce or counteract messages that would make your child feel inferior due to culture, color, disability or a specific type of family structure?
- Consider where the author may be coming from by reviewing the biographic information that may be found on the inside of the front cover. Do the books in your collection reflect authors that have a variety of identities and experiences?
- A "loaded" word is one that contains offensive overtones. For example, be cautious of books that explain certain families as being "ordinary" or "normal."
- A book is more likely to be relevant to your child the newer that it is. Books that were published more recently are more likely to reflect a nonsexist and multicultural society.
- Children can be very easily influenced by books. Books often hold the power to undermine or nurture a child's sense of self and can deeply affect a child's feelings towards others. Make sure that you keep this in mind when examining a book.