The Beauty of Reading Aloud

by Virginia Knowles
from Common Sense Excellence

  

Reading aloud is a child’s first introduction to good literature. Why is this so important?

 

Reading aloud connects parent and child. It links you together in a personal way around interesting ideas and words. Young ones are soothed by the sound of our voices. I tend to be so much more calm when I am snuggled up on the couch enjoying a great book with them, rather than chasing them around the house trying to keep them out of mischief. Reading aloud builds warm memories, too! What will they fondly remember looking back to their childhoods -- pages upon pages of worksheets or the great stories they read with Mom?

 

Reading aloud gives your child a splendid vocabulary. Good literature is rich in descriptive vocabulary. Your child can gain an impressive arsenal of new words to use in speaking and writing. A child can encounter a word in print, and even know what it means, but not know how to pronounce it. Is the word charade pronounced CHAIR-ray-dee or shuh-RAID? If he hears you say it while he is looking at it, he can make the connection and hopefully remember it the next time.

 

Reading aloud to a child prepares him for learning to read. Study after study has shown that being read to often as a young child is one of the crucial factors for success in learning to read and in performing well in the rest of academics! The more words a child has in his spoken vocabulary, the easier it is for him to decode them when he sees them in print. He also knows how sentences flow, so he can figure out new words from the context of the sentence.

 

Reading aloud allows you to teach your child information about the world. This is especially important in the early years. Easy phonics books are fine for “learning to read” but many children aren’t fluent enough to comprehend core curriculum content (literature, history, geography, science) until they are eight or nine. How will they get maximum exposure to these subjects without being driven to frustration? Reading aloud is the key.

 

Reading aloud gives your child the benefit of your wisdom and knowledge. Even a child who can technically read the words may not fully understand the concepts in a book. He doesn’t have the storehouse of background information and insight which you possess. When you read aloud, you can explain things as you go along, and check to see if your child comprehends the ideas. I even do this with my middle school students for history.

 

Reading aloud keeps you intimately involved in your child’s education. You know what they are reading because you are reading it with them. You have a common experience that you can talk about later. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the story that we can’t set it down. I’ve been known to read aloud over 100 pages in one sitting on more than on occasion! Yes, I was hoarse when we finished, but these are “moments with momentum.”

 

Reading aloud sets an example of serving others. Use the power of imitation! What they see us do, they will do. As I’ve gotten busier with our family of 12, my children have found ways to help fill some of my gaps. I love to see my preschoolers and even our young neighbors lined up on the couch with one of my daughters reading aloud to them! It’s a great way to get in some extra reading practice, too! It boosts their confidence to know that they are making someone else happy at the same time. This is such a practical way to use reading aloud as a service to a busy Mommy and eager tots.

 

I implore you to continue reading aloud to your children all through the preschool and elementary years (and beyond)!

 

“When Mother Reads Aloud”

“When Mother Reads Aloud”

Author Unknown

 

When Mother reads aloud, the past

Seems real as every day;

I hear the tramp of armies vast,

I see the spears and lances cast,

I join the thrilling fray;

Brave knights and ladies fair and proud

I meet when Mother reads aloud.

 

When Mother reads aloud, far lands

Seem very near and true;

I cross the deserts’ gleaming sands,

Or hunt the jungle’s prowling bands,

Or sail the ocean blue.

Far heights, whose peaks the cold mists shroud,

I scale, when Mother reads aloud.

 

When Mother reads aloud, I long

For noble deeds to do --

To help the right, redress the wrong;

It seems so easy to be strong,

So simple to be true.

Oh, thick and fast the visions crowd

My eyes, when Mother reads aloud.

 

This is an excerpt (except for the poem) from my book Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade.

 

This article and poem also appear on my preschool & elementary home school blog at The Beauty of Reading Aloud and When Mother Reads Aloud.

 

Related articles on the preschool & elementary blog include: 

• How to Read Aloud and Enjoy It
• Read for the Heart: Whole Books for Wholehearted Families (book review)
• Reading Aloud is as Easy as Apple Pie
• Taming the Fidgets While You Read to Your Kids

·         What is the Charlotte Mason Approach to Education?  

Virginia and Thad Knowles are the parents of 7 daughters and 3 sons, ages 5 to 23, and the grandparents of an adorable baby boy.  Virginia is currently home schooling her five youngest children, spending the mornings reading aloud from literature, history, and science books before they do their independent assignments.  She is the author of Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade, The Real Life Home School Mom, and The Learner's Journal lesson planner and resource log.  She also publishes the Hope Chest Home School e-magazine for about 1,000 families around the world; you can subscribe by sending any message to hopechest-subscribe@associate.com and responding to the confirmation e-mail.  Virginia posts regularly on her five blogs: 

• www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com encouragement for mothers
• www.VirginiaKnowles.blogspot.com Virginia's Life, Such As It Is
• www.StartWellHomeSchool.blogspot.com preschool & elementary
• www.ContinueWellHomeSchool.blogspot.com middle school 
• www.FinishWellHomeSchool.blogspot.com  high school 

Virginia Knowles, who wrote the article "The Beauty of Reading Aloud" above, recently presented a workshop called "With Literature & Justice for All" at the Books & Beyond conference in Orlando, Florida.  The workshop emphasized teaching "Virtuous Reality" through American literature and history for grades 4-8.   You can watch four video segments of the workshop (45 minutes total) at "With Literature & Justice for All."   There are notes, quotes, and web links there, too.