Happy almost weekend! In staying true to my bookish blog posts as of late, I wanted to share something for the reading parents of children. We often wonder how we can encourage our young ones to be eager young readers. As Dr. Seuss famously said, ‘The more you read the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.’
Many of us read with, to, and listen to our young readers. I like to cuddle up with my kids at night and read. We all pick out a book, and take turns being the storyteller. We keep a dictionary close by so that we can look up words we don’t know the meaning of. I do it too, shhh, don’t tell anyone!
I like to ask questions before during, and after the story. Recently, a friend put me onto a fun learning resource that makes reading comprehension fun. They are called Learning resources reading comprehension cubes. At the time of this blog, post they are on sale for $11.73 on amazon, and of course shipping is free with amazon prime. I do love a deal.
The cubes are wonderful, because you play a game with your child while reading. So, there is bonding and learning happening all at once. The description says that they are for six years old and older. If you have a younger than six reader, there are certain questions they can answer as well.
So let’s break it down.
There are six dice: two red, two blue, and two green. First, before you start reading you roll the red cubes. A question such as ‘What does the cover of the book tell you about the story?’ will present itself. Then the party starts. I have found that as time has past, and when I ask my kids this question, their attention to detail has really flourished.
Next, find a good stopping point in the middle of the story, and ask your reader to roll the blue dice. For an older reader, I really liked the blue dice question: ‘How would you attempt to solve a problem in the story?’ If you know a resolution to a problem in a storybook is about to be revealed, that might be a good stopping point to get your little reader’s thoughts first.
Finally, when the story is done, have the reader roll the green dice. One question on the green dice helped me understand how much my young reader was focused, how much they remember, and how well they can summarize. The question was, ‘Retell a main event within the story.’
These questions are of course all possible to ask without using the dice, and hopefully the question suggestions posted here will help you and your family.
Was this blog post was helpful to you in finding new and creative ways to encourage your young reader? What do you do to foster eager young readers at home? How do you like to encourage your kids to learn? Please share, I would love to know.
