If your child gets interested in a hobby, sport, craft, or anything new, go
to the library! You can certainly find books on the subject, whatever it is,
and you can show your child how to read to gain information about it. This lays
the groundwork for future study and research skills that your child will need.
Fiction vs. Nonfiction
Can your child tell the difference between fiction and nonfiction? If not,
it’s time to talk about thinks like "make-believe" and "true
story." I’m all for believing in Santa, but if your child thinks the Three
Little Pigs is a true story, you’ve got some explaining to do.
Main Idea
Look for the main idea in the book or story you are reading. Help your child
determine what the main idea might be. Ask questions such as, "What was
the point of that book?" or "What was that book really about?"
to help her figure it out. If your child just gives you details, it’s fine to
explain that yes, that’s a supporting detail, but not the main idea.
Learn New Words
Try using a child’s dictionary to look up words. If you have a very young
child, a regular dictionary might be too intimidating with all it’s small
writing and millions of words. But a child’s dictionary is often colorful with
illustrations, big writing, and words that make sense to him.
Keep in mind that the goal isn’t to read perfectly every time. The goal is
to enjoy reading, find meaning in it, learn from it, have fun with it. You
don’t need your five year old to be able to read Harry Potter quite yet. Stay
with books on his level, and he’ll get there eventually.