Working with Parents: The Best Reading Advice for ParentsAuthor(s): Timothy V. Rasinski and Anthony D. FredericksSource: The Reading Teacher, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Jan., 1990), pp. 344-345Published by: Wiley on behalf of the International Reading AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20200384 .

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WORKING WITH PARENTS

The best reading advice for parents Timothy V. Rasinski, Kent State University _

Anthony D. Fredericks, York College

At any level of education, communica tion between teachers and the parents of their students is critical. The nature

of home/school communication fre

quently takes the form of classroom news or notes concerning a particular child's academic or social progress. Less frequent, yet of considerable im

portance, are the occasional tips and advice for parents on helping their

children in school. Usually presented in an informal manner, such advice

needs to be nonthreatening, easy to of

fer initially and to continue offering, and something that both parents and

children find rewarding. We have given some thought to the

best reading advice that could be given to parents regardless of grade or ability level of the child?advice that could be

presented effectively in an informal

way. Our candidate for the very best

generic advice that any teacher could

give any parent is this: Parents should read to their children. We feel quite strongly about this advice. Here's why.

Reasons why reading aloud is our best advice

First, reading to children is a rela

tively easy activity for both parents and children. The only elements

needed are a book (or some other read

ing material), a child, and some time.

Most importantly it's inexpensive, mu

tually rewarding, and requires very lit

tle training or explanation. Second, reading aloud is one of the

most effective techniques for promot

ing growth in reading. Several studies

have documented the important role

that reading aloud can play in literacy development throughout a child's life.

Children who are read to by their par ents are exposed to a wide range of vo

cabulary; they develop an internal sense of story and understand that

reading is a process of getting meaning from written symbols. Perhaps most

importantly, children who are read to are provided with the best role model for reading?their parents. Children understand that reading is something their parents value and that has func tional utility.

Third, and best of all, reading to children is an extremely enjoyable ac

tivity for both parent and child; the

simple act of spending a few quiet min utes together at the end of a bustling day can be an extraordinary pleasure. Reading aloud gives parents and chil dren a wonderful opportunity to be to

gether in a close, interactive, and

personal sort of way?a type of close ness not possible from watching televi sion together, playing games, or

traveling in the car.

Thus, regardless of the criteria used,

reading aloud is a superb activity to recommmend to parents. Even for older children reading aloud can be

very appropriate. One of the biggest mistakes made by parents who have read aloud to their children is to put an

end to this activity when a child enters the middle grades. Perhaps even more at the upper grades parents and chil dren need the kind of closeness that

reading aloud offers. We know of

many parents who continue to read to even teenage children. The secret, it

seems, is to read material that matches

the interest and maturity levels of the children.

We recommend that teachers fre

quently advise parents to read to their kids. This advice should be continu ous and ongoing?in notes home, on

school stationery, in the school news

letter, on signs in the school, and

throughout the community. Articles in the local newspaper and letters to the editor should extol the importance of

parents reading to their children. At school assemblies and during parent teacher conferences principals and teachers should issue this sound ad vice-not as a matter of policy, but as a

matter of practice.

Some tips for successful read-alouds

There's more we as teachers can do, however, than simply suggest to par ents that they read to their children.

We can give tips on how to ensure the success of at-home read-alouds. Small bits of timely advice can help guaran tee that parents and children find read

ing aloud a fun, worthwhile activity. Listed below are some important con

siderations on read-aloud that teachers

might want to pass on to the parents of their students. Make read-aloud part of a routine.

Read-aloud works best when it occurs

daily, usually at the same time and

place. Making reading aloud a part of a regular routine keeps it from being that "one extra task" that needs to be

accomplished. A daily time for read

ing also helps maintain the continuity for stories that require several days to

read.

Reading to children immediately be fore or after dinner can often be the

perfect time of day for some families. Others may prefer to begin the bed

time ritual 15 minutes earlier than nor

mal so that children can be read to in

their beds. It's also a good idea to find one or two special places at home to

read to children. That special place could be in the child's bedroom, at the

344 The Reading Tfeacher January 1990

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family couch, near the fireplace, on

the porch, or even around the kitchen table. Family members should associ ate that special spot with reading. As children read more and more on their own they too will find a particular lo

cation that they prefer for their own

reading. Use good reading materials. If the

main purpose of reading aloud is to en

joy a good story, then parents should make sure they choose the very best literature to share with their children.

Teachers (especially those who share literature in their own classrooms) can

be a very good resource for parents in this regard. Teachers can recommend books based upon their own experi ences of reading to children that "can't

miss" with a particular age group. Teachers can also make it a point to share with parents books such as the

Newbery and Caldecott Award win ners (and honor books), Children's Choices selections, and the latest win ners of the state children's book award. Public libraries often make it a point to have multiple copies of these books on

hand, as well as their own lists of rec

ommendations, to maximize their cir culation.

Although books are the usual fare of

read-alouds, magazine and newspaper articles are also very timely and reflect current interests. We know of one par ent whose children love to hear the "Drama in Real Life" articles in issues of the Reader's Digest. Poetry is also fun to share with children and is read

ily available for children of all ages. Connect read alouds to family expe

riences. If there's one thing that we've learned from reading research it is that the best conditions for reading occur

when the reader knows, in advance,

something about or has an interest in the topic to be read. Sound advice to

pass on to parents, then, would be to

try to read about things that the family may be experiencing soon or has just recently experienced.

Trips to new places can be great op portunities to read about those places to children. For example, a visit to

Springfield, Illinois, can be an impetus for reading Lincoln: A Photobiogra

phy. Or a vacation to New England might be good inspiration for reading Johnny Tremain or My Brother Sam Is

Dead.

Everyday experiences can also lead to read alouds. Picking berries can lead to Blueberries for Sal, and a nat

ure walk in which parents and children look for interesting rocks can be con

nected to Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. Making these connections

heightens the anticipation of the expe rience and makes the experience and book more memorable.

Talk about what is read. We cer

tainly don't want to encourage turning read-aloud sessions into formal read

ing lessons. The major purpose of the

activity is enjoyment for both parents and children. Learning will occur nat

urally in informal interaction between

parents and children. We would encourage parents to

make the most of this interaction by talking with their children about the stories that are read. Parents shouldn't

quiz their children on the reading; but

they should answer the questions chil dren may have, share experiences or

stories that relate to the reading, and ask the children whether or not they liked the book and why. Allowing chil

dren to help choose the direction of the discussion fulfills their own needs for

learning and sharing information. Be a good model of reading. More

and more we hear about the impor tance of being a good model of reading for children. For poor readers this is

especially true. Less able readers are often placed in reading groups where the primary models for reading are the other poor readers in the group. This is

hardly an ideal situation.

Parents, grandparents, or older sib

lings, through their reading aloud, can be models of fluent reading. By read

ing expressively and with attention to

punctuation and phrasing, parents can demonstrate to their children what

good reading is like. By calling their children's attention to aspects of their

reading and by asking children to read aloud with them occasionally, parents can, in a relatively easy way, help

move their children toward more fluent

reading. Beyond this, the simple fact that par

ents take the time to read to their chil dren conveys to the children that

reading is an important activity.

Conclusion

Reading aloud to children is easy to

do, it's enjoyable, and it has definite educational value. Moreover, thou sands of parents (and teachers) engage in it on a regular basis and will attest to its merit. Few things in life enjoy such

superb reputations. Because reading aloud is so easy and

has proven value in children's learning to read, we strongly suggest that more schools and teachers make deter

mined, yearlong efforts to encourage, support, and help extend parents' read

ing aloud to their children. We would be delighted to hear about schools in which the teachers and administration have made read-aloud at home a prior ity of the school and a goal of every school family. In short, a school full of children whose parents read to them is a goal that is not only worthwhile, it can be accomplished.

Resources on reading aloud for parents Gross, J. (1986). Make your child a life-long

reader. Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher.

Grinnell, P.C. (1984). How can I prepare my young child for reading. Newark, DE: In

ternational Reading Association.

Roser, N.L. (1984). Helping your child be come a reader. Newark, DE: Interna tional Reading Association.

Trelease, J. (1989). The new read-aloud handbook. New York: Penguin.

Children's books cited Collier, J.L., & Collier, C. (1974). My brother

Sam is dead. New York: Four Winds Press.

Forbes, T. (1943). Johnny Tremain. Boston: Houghton Miff lin.

Freedman, R. (1987). Lincoln: A photobiog raphy. New York: Clarion Books.

McCloskey, R. (1963). Blueberries for Sal. New York: Viking.

Steig, W. (1969). Sylvester and the magic pebble. New York: Windemill.

Working with Parents is a column dealing with ways in which teachers might involve parents more in the learning of literacy abilities in school and at home. Send questions, comments, or suggestions about the column to Timothy Rasinski, Department of Teacher Development & Curriculum Studies, Kent State

University, Kent, OH 44242, USA.

WORKING WITH PARENTS 345

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