Beyond Reading Aloud
Read a book about
an animal. Is it a fact book or a story book? How do you know?
Read a poem together. (Try Jack Prelutsky or Shel Silverstein.)
Make list of things
you'd like to do this
weekend. Have your child do the writing. (Picture writing is ok!) | | |
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More Great Books for Maine Kids
NEWS FROM RAISING READERS SEPTEMBER 2012 |
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So much to read! Building Genre Awareness
We know that most children love stories. Stories are just one kind of book that children might encounter, though. Even very young children can tell the difference between a story and other kinds of writing if they've had the chance to see other things such as lists, letters, recipes and informational books. 
It's important that children are exposed to many different types of texts so they realize that we use those texts in different ways. For example, we read stories from beginning to end. We read informational books out of order sometimes. Poetry books might be used to read just one poem in the whole book. By letting children in on the different types (or genres) of text, they become more skillful at understanding how to connect to that text.
Here are some ideas for you to try:
* Try reading a fact book about your child's favorite thing and a story about that topic as well. Talk about how the books are the same or different.
* Write a grocery list with your child. Talk about how a list is a row of words with one under the other, rather than in a line across the page like a story.
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Two Thirds of Parents in Maine Read with Their Young Children Daily.*
Whether you're new to reading with your kids or it's been part of your routine for a long time - congratulations! You're well on the way to raise your child to be a reader.
What else can you do to help your child be ready to read? Join us on Facebook and Twitter to find out. We're sharing simple things you can do to get even more out of the time you spend reading with your child.
*National Study of Children's Health, 2007
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 | | If Your Child Likes This Book... |
New! Companion Book Lists for 2012 Titles
Has your child fallen in love with one of his Raising Readers books and you wished you knew what other books to read with him? Try our new 2012 Companion Book Lists! Developed by our early literacy advisor, Dr. Susan Bennett-Armistead, of the University of Maine, the lists contain recommended books across types (or genres) to accompany each title in our 2012 collection. at the four year well-child visit. If your child likes Homer, she'll love the books on our recommended list. Check out the Homer the Library Cat companion book list today.
Watch the What's New section of our home page, we'll be adding new lists regularly. |
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