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What can I do to improve my child’s reading skills? This is the question that I am asked most often. Every time my answer is the same – Read aloud to your child.  Choose a book based on interest and ability to comprehend, NOT based on your child’s reading level.  I know that my response is not what was expected.  I know those parents were picturing worksheets or maybe computer programs – you know, something that looked like more school at home. Reading aloud evokes images of a more typical bedtime story; a book checked out from the school library or one from the child’s personal bookshelf.  There is nothing particularly wrong with that scenario, but the act of reading a well-written book that would interest your child and is above his actual reading level, carries with it a wide range of benefits.  We often think of reading aloud as something we do only with very young children who are not yet able to read on their own.  Research, however, indicates that the benefits of being read to extend from the very youngest children to those in college.

Here are 5 research-backed benefits to reading aloud:

1. Cultivates a lifelong love of reading – Reading aloud builds skills that are essential for reading success. Reading is the key to lifelong learning, and learning is a basic requirement for success in just about any field.
2. Improves comprehension – Sometimes we forget that our children have the ability to understand and enjoy material that is far beyond their reading level.  This is especially true for our struggling readers who often expend so much energy trying to decode the words on the page that there is little energy, or motivation, left to make sense of what they have just read. Remember, making meaning is the endgame.
3. Builds vocabulary – hearing new vocabulary in context strengthens communication skills. Because you choose higher level books, children are exposed to vocabulary that may not be heard daily in their environment. Exposure to rich language and engaging text encourages struggling readers to become better.
4. Models fluency – Fluency is a critical skill directly tied to reading comprehension.  Reading aloud is an opportunity to model intonation, expression, attention to punctuation, as well as the rhythm and phrasing of our language. 
5. Improves information processing skills – Reading aloud helps students learn how to use language to make sense of the world.  It develops adaptive expertise, which utilizes higher order thinking skills.  Adaptive expertise combines pieces of existing knowledge to solve unexpected or new problems.

“Reading aloud is the foundation for literacy development.  It is the single most important activity for reading success” (Neuman, Copple, & Bredekamp, 2000.)

References

Children’s Bureau (2023, May). The importance of reading to your children. Retrieved from https://www.all4kids.org/news/blog/the-importance-of-reading-to-your-children/.

Gold, J. & Gibson, A. (n.d.). Reading aloud to build comprehension. Retrieved from https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/about-reading/articles/reading-aloud-build-comprehension.

Neuman, S. B., Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2000). Learning to read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for young children. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Retrieved from American Psychological Association APA PsychNet https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2001-14034-000.

Texas Center for Learning Disabilities (n.d.). Five evidence-based ways to improve reading fluency in elementary and secondary grades. Retrieved from https://www.texasldcenter.org/teachers-corner/improve-reading-fluency.

University of Iowa (n.d.). What are the benefits of reading aloud? Retrieved from https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrigomFfkplYYYSAwkPxQt.;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzIEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1699409670/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fteach.its.uiowa.edu%2fsites%2fteach.its.uiowa.edu%2ffiles%2fdocs%2fdocs%2fWhat_are_the_Benefits_of_Reading_Aloud_ed.pdf/RK=2/RS=mERhosrfua4.I4fXRuZL._Xhwbk-.

Walden University (n.d.). The benefits of reading aloud to your students. Retrieved from https://www.waldenu.edu/online-bachelors-programs/bs-in-elementary-education/resource/the-benefits-of-reading-aloud-to-your-students.