Read with Me: Engaging Your Young Child in Active Reading

Parents and early childhood teachers know that reading aloud to children is important, but the specific things that adults do while reading with children that make reading a powerful way to improve children’s language, vocabulary, and early literacy skills can remain a mystery. Read with Me makes those behaviors clear and easy to implement for parents and teachers by outlining the ABCs of Active Reading (Ask Questions, Build Vocabulary, and Connect to the Child’s World). Active Reading is an approach to reading aloud with young children that is supported by decades of research. Read With Me provides parents and teachers with the knowledge and skills to engage young children (age 2 to 5) in Active Reading with examples, clear explanations, and ideas for making one-on-one or small group read aloud sessions a powerful way to build children’s early literacy and language skills, all while creating a lifelong love of reading.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: The Power of Active Reading Chapter 1: Reading “With” versus Reading “To” Active Reading: Raising Readers Using Decades of Research The ABCs of Active Reading When to do Active Reading: Taking Advantage of Child Development Learning to Love Books Chapter 2: Learning to Read: Joint Attention, Print Concepts, and Print Knowledge Learning to Read vs. Reading to Learn How Children Learn to Read Learning to Read: The Early Years Sharing a Story: Joint Attention Teaching the Basics of Books Learning to Read Chapter 3: How to Read a Book: Repeated Reading, Fill-in-the-Blank, Picture Walks, and Talk More Early Language and Active Reading How Children Develop Language Repeated Reading Picture Walks Fill-in-the-Blank Prompts Talk More Reading Together Chapter 4: How to Talk about a Book: Asking Questions Ask Questions Setting the Foundation for Reading Comprehension: How Children Learn to Understand what they Read Asking and Answering Questions: The Foundation for Reading Comprehension Talk about a Book Chapter 5: Building Vocabulary: How to Teach Words in Books Building Vocabulary: A Powerful Tool Finding Rare Words in Books Building Vocabulary from Books: Repeated Reading and Conversation Building Vocabulary through Active Reading Building Vocabulary after Reading: Talking Beyond Books Building Vocabulary as Children Grow Chapter 6: Make Books Bigger: Connect to the Child’s World Make Connections to Build Meaning Connect to Experiences Connect to Stories Build Background Knowledge Connect to your Child’s World Chapter 7: How to Talk about Sounds: Building Phonemic Awareness and Letter Knowledge through Active Reading What is Phonemic Awareness? Active Reading to Build Phonemic Awareness Teaching Letters through Active Reading How do Kids Learn to Read Words? From Singing to Reading Chapter 8: The Active Reading Bookshelf: Building a Library for Active Reading Access to Books How to Build an Active Reading Library Active Reading and Informational Text The Active Reading Bookshelf Chapter 9: Time to Read: Doing Active Reading One book at a Time: Answering Questions about Active Reading Is e-Reading Active Reading? Raising Kids who Love to Read Read with Me Appendix A: Books for Active Reading Great for Pointing and Labeling Great for Letting your Child take over Story Telling Great for Asking Questions Great for Building Vocabulary Great for Connecting to Everyday Experiences Great Fiction Picture Books for Building Background Knowledge Great Nonfiction Picture Books for Building Background Knowledge Great for Picture Walks Great for Fill-in-the-Blank Great for Rhyming and Alliteration Great for Learning Letters and ABCs Wordless Picture Books Diverse Books for Active Reading Appendix B: Active Reading Guides Llama Llama Red Pajama Maisy Goes to Preschool Noisy Nora The Gruffalo’s Child A Seed is Sleepy Owl Babies Where the Wild Things Are Rosie’s Hat Bunny Money Rumble in the Jungle Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend Little Blue Truck Leads the Way 10 Minutes til Bedtime Appendix C: Building a Coordinated System of Active Reading in Your Community Glossary

About the Author :
Samantha Cleaver led the initial design and startup of Active Reading work for Read Charlotte, a community-wide initiative to double the number of students reading on grade level by 3rd grade in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. She earned a doctorate in special education with a focus on literacy interventions from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Munro Richardson is the executive director of Read Charlotte, a community-wide initiative to double the percent of students reading on grade level by 3rd grade in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Richardson earned a doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in political science.

Review :
Everyone can read with young children like a pro and this book will show to the easy steps. This simple, fun approach really can make reading the amazing experience every family wants it to be. Equally valuable for parents and teachers, Read With Me lays out a set of very clear daily practices (ABC’s of Active Reading) for creating not just young readers, but joyful, engaged, life-long learners. The authors translate the research science of literacy into clear explanations and practical examples of the Why, How, What, and even the Where of reading with young children. Most importantly, Read With Me emphasizes what we know to be most important in supporting a young child’s brain development and learning: caring interactions and relationships between a child and loving adult. This immensely practical book will make every teacher, parent, and caregiver want to put the ABCs of active reading into action. Read With Me: Engaging Your Young Child in Active Reading is brimming with evidence-based activities for making reading engaging and effective. As a scholar of literacy and a father of three young children, I know active reading works. I hope the ABCs of active reading – asking questions, building vocabulary, and connecting ideas to children’s worlds – will be put into practice in schools, homes, libraries, and community centers across the country. Read With Me: Engaging Your Young Child in Active Reading is a powerful compilation of tools to help the children in your world develop a lifelong love of reading. This indispensable book both beautifully captures the undeniable importance of introducing books and reading early in life and skillfully explains how to lay the foundation for reading success. Read With Me is a must-read for every parent, grandparent, teacher, or caregiver.