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One of my favorite ways to work on skills in speech therapy is shared book reading. I love helping parents figure out how to get the most bang for their buck while sharing a book with their kids. Book reading can go far beyond simply pulling the words off the page, and this is such a simple activity that can easily be taught and requires minimal effort.

"It’s easier than it sounds, and I bet you’re already doing some of these things as you read with your child."

young boy sits at table reading

According to the Institute of Educational Sciences, shared book reading includes the following:

  • directing the child’s attention to illustrations, print, or word meanings
  • engaging the child in discussions focused on understanding the meaning or sequence of events in a story
  • helping the child understand an expository passage
  • asking the child questions and giving explanations
  • helping the child draw connections between events in the text and those in the child’s own life as a way of expanding on the text and scaffolding children’s learning experiences to support language development, emergent reading, and comprehension
  • the adult engaging in the shared book reading must use one or more interactive techniques to draw attention to aspects of the text being read

It’s easier than it sounds, and I bet you’re already doing some of these things. If you can include at least one of these strategies as you read with your child, you’re setting your child up for success in so many ways, well beyond simply learning to read. I will break down each element and share examples of what they might look like below.

#1

Start by directing the child’s attention to illustrations, print, or word meanings. "The Book with No Pictures" by BJ Novak is a super fun book for this.

  • Draw attention to print: Pointing to the words as you read, noticing and pointing out word boundaries (spaces).
  • Direct attention to word meaning: Find words your child may not know and talk about them.

#2

Next, engage your child in discussions focused on understanding the meaning or sequence of events in a story. I like "The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend" by Dan Santat to help with these skills.

  • Understanding the meaning/sequence of events in a story: Use this story to talk about sequencing the events in the story, following Beekle's big adventure.

#3

Finally, let’s talk about helping your child draw connections between the book and their own life. This is so important for your child to comprehend better and remember the information or story read. I recommend "The View at the Zoo" by Kathleen Long Bostrom for this.

  • Making connections: Talk about all the animals, any time you have seen those animals or other stories with the animals in them.

If you include one of these elements into your storytime with your child, you’re helping in countless ways which can impact their reading fluency, comprehension, language, and even articulation. With this strategy, you really can’t go wrong and your child will benefit across the board.

If you have any questions about your child’s development, please contact us to schedule an evaluation.

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