What are we really doing when we are reading with our children? So many of us focus on the “learning to read” aspect that we forget all the other hidden benefits of reading to our children or as a teacher, story time. The first one I am talking about is:
Modeling: Most children learn from watching others. Peers are not yet the mighty other so you, as the storyteller, are the model.
Reading: You are modeling how a person translates symbols on the page into words. That there is meaning in those things the children see on a page that is not an illustration.
Story: Through story walks and asking and answering questions, you model the development of story from one page to another. The children are integrating beginning, middle, and end of how to tell something that happens.
Character: Some don’t; but, most of us use voices when we read for the different characters or the action in the story. We get loud when the words get loud, whisper when a character whispers, rush the words when the action speeds up, and pull it back when the action slows. Children love this and they can become part of the story.
Importance: By reading to children, you are modeling how important it is to read. You are also conveying that the child or children are important to you by taking the time to be with them in the adventure of reading.
Relationships: This is actually the foundation of all the others. Modeling interactions, listening, sharing, respecting materials and others, turn taking, and caring, are priceless activities. You are modeling how to do things together that will flow into other events in the child’s life.