Beginning Readers

How to help your child learn to read

The most important thing you can do to foster reading, other than reading aloud to your children, is to let them see you reading for enjoyment and knowledge.

When you read with your child, take the role of the reading buddy instead of the reading teacher.

If your child struggles, ask him or her what word would make sense in the sentence, look for clues in the text and illustrations, or use letter-sound associations.

Recognize that reading about information is as legitimate as reading novels. Acknowledge this fact to your child when he or she follows written instructions for a hobby and reads a magazine or the sports page.

Continue to read to your children as they grow older. Children need to build their listening vocabularies in order to develop reading skills.

Encourage and support your child as he or she begins the journey to become a successful lifelong reader.

How to find a good book

The Barrington Area Library offers a wide selection of books chosen to appeal to children’s diverse interests and reading levels.

Let your child choose his or her own books. It’s a great way to foster independence and a sense of responsibility. Your child may select a book to challenge his or her abilities or find a book he or she may read independently for a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.

Ask a librarian. We read many of our new titles and are always happy to make recommendations.

Use the Kids' Catalog to find books on topics you might enjoy.
 

Ask a friend or teacher for book suggestions.

Find an author of a book you like and read his or her other books.

Read books on real-life topics you’re interested in: animals, history, sports, crafts.

Some children love acquiring facts or trivia and especially enjoy The Guinness Book of World Records or The World Almanac just for the fun of browsing through them.

Your child’s reading level

Reading levels printed on the covers of books have more to do with marketing than the actual reading level of the material inside. These printed "reading levels" vary widely among publishers—what may be a first grade book for one publisher might be a second grade book for another.

One way to see if your child is ready for a particular book is to use the 5-finger rule: Open the book in the middle and start reading two pages. For each word the child has trouble with, hold up a finger. One or two fingers mean the book is on the easy side; three fingers mean the book is about right; four or five fingers mean the book is too difficult. The child can try the book again when he or she is ready.

Don't be alarmed if your child brings home a book that you feel is too "easy." Some researchers think children read in wavelike patterns—at times reading easy books, then harder books, and then back to easy ones again. Easy books are enjoyable and help build reading speed. A child reading an easy book that he or she enjoys is learning a love of reading, and you need not be concerned that they will stop their reading development at that stage. One day, he or she will become bored with easy reading, and will move on to another author or another type of book.