Summer vacation is quickly coming to a close and by now many parents are ready to pull their hair out, because their little darlings have used the phrase "I'm bored" one too many times. My usual response to that statement is "go find a book to read." However, I have rediscovered the value of reading stories and books online. There are thousands of virtual books and stories that can be accessed on a computer or tablet. Many of them are animated and reading books on the computer is a wonderful way to combine learning, spending time together and fun.
I rediscovered this
resource last week when I was blessed to spend time with my young nephew. He
has some neurological concerns that make holding a book challenging. In spite
of that, as soon as he uttered the word "bored" I opened up my laptop
and we started reading. I pulled up a popular children's educational website,
with animated story characters and the time flew by! We had so much fun that he
did not want to stop reading. I can still hear him laughing at the animated
characters each time we reread the short story.
What made our time
together even more significant, was that I was able to use the same reading
strategies that I've used in the classroom with actual books. We were able to
work on his vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and pacing using the computer.
I was even able to conduct an informal reading assessment, to gage his
independent reading level. The computer has many amazing applications such as a
highlighting tool to emphasize unfamiliar words, and audio devices to read
stories out loud. These mechanisms can be quite effective to use when
implementing reading strategies, and thankfully most of them are quite simple
to use.
Here are some tips
that will not only help beat the summer doldrums, but will enable you to spend
some quality time with your children. When new stories are introduced, these
strategies will help prevent stress during reading sessions and promote good
reading habits.
1. To avoid
frustrating struggling readers, choose stories that are on or slightly below
the student's independent reading ability. (Once the student gains confidence
in their reading ability, the level of difficulty can be gradually increased.)
2. Make sure
struggling reader1s have a buddy when reading stories on the computer. This can
be a parent, or older sibling. (If you don't have the time or the patience,
consider hiring a college student in the neighborhood to sit and read with your
child for no more than ninety minutes per session.)
3. Have students look
at the pictures first, and ask them to make a prediction about what is going to
happen in the story.
4. Next identify any
sight words or vocabulary that might be challenging for the student. Say the
word and ask the student if they can find the word on the page.
Example: soft
Parent Asks: Can you find the word soft?
Parent sounds out the word: s-o-f-t
If the story is
appropriate for the child's reading level there should not be many difficult
words.
5. Parents or buddy
readers should read each new sentence at least two times while the student
listens. Place your finger on the screen and tap under each word as you read.
Next, read the sentence two more times along with the student. Finally, allow
the student to read the sentence independently. The next time the story is read
the student should be allowed to read to the parent or buddy reader.
If this article has
been helpful to you, or if you know anyone who struggles to read, please feel
free to pass it on.
Happy Reading!
Nori
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