Reading - A nightly routine for children

Reading every night before bed is one of the best habits a child can get into. It is important for fluency, word attack skills and comprehension improvement. Children need the opportunity to read daily to be successful in school. The curriculum is all language based and without a good foundation in reading, the curriculum becomes more difficult. Even Math has become more about the process. Children need to explain their thinking for every question. Remember to give your child as much time for independent reading as shared reading. Independent reading should be with a book that is suitable for your child. A book that is too hard or too easy will not help them to make as many gains as a book that is at their reading level. To determine if the book your child is reading is too hard, have them read the first page aloud to you. If they make more than 5 errors, chances are the story is too difficult. If they can read all the words well, be sure to test their comprehension skills. Children will often have little difficulty decoding the words, but comprehension is lacking. This indicates that the story is too hard. Find a book that your child can read well and comprehend. When taking part in shared reading, a book that is at your child's instructional level is suitable. That means, they are making mistakes with both decoding and comprehension not less than 90% of the time. With shared reading, you can assist your child with sounding out the words and with comprehension. Ask your child questions about the story every few pages. Take turns reading the story. Maybe your child want to read one page while you read the other. Remember, make story time a part of your daily/nightly routine and make it enjoyable; not a chore. Get comfortable and choose a good book! (http://everythingforyourkids.com/)