Families For Life | Tips on Reading with Babies and Young Children

Reading aloud

You can read aloud to children to develop their interest and positive attitudes towards reading. When reading a story to children, you should:

Sit in a position that allows for eye contact with your child.

Sit with them in a way so that they can see the pictures in the book.

Hold the book so that the text and pictures face your child.

Use facial expressions, volume contrast and different voices for different characters to focus and retain children’s attention

Explicit instruction

It is crucial to directly introduce children to the specific aspects of the language, including letters, phonological awareness and vocabulary.

Teaching Vocabulary

You have to be intentional to select target words, provide both explicit and implicit instruction and give children repeated exposure to the word.

Contributed by: 
Ministry of Education