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Expert Tips to Boost Reading Skills in Grades 1-2

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Try these easy steps to bolster your child’s reading skills.

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Must reads for preschool

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Common Sense Media editors help you choose Best Books for Preschoolers. These terrific tales teach kids that reading is fun.

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The Deichman Bjørvika library in Oslo has six floors held up by three towers, leaving an open atrium at the building's center. It was named public library of the year in 2021. (Sigrid Harms/picture alliance via Getty Images)

As the world enters 2022, public libraries are emerging as one of the bright spots - literally.

An abundance of new and newly renovated libraries have opened their doors in the past two years. In addition to being breathtakingly beautiful, many are exemplars of what great community spaces can and should be.

Indoors, they are filled with natural light. Books once packed together in dark corners are now on display on bright, welcoming shelves that could rival those in an Apple store. Some libraries have added outdoor patios and roof decks.

Though printed volumes remain their focal point, the best new libraries offer so much more: computer labs, conference rooms of different sizes, studios for recording podcasts and editing videos; event spaces, hands-on experiences for kids, a cafe, and kitchens where people can learn to cook foods from different cultures.

Call it a new golden era for public libraries worldwide. Some of what are already being dubbed " cultural masterpieces " include:

The " Wormhole Library" in Haikou, China, which has made numerous top architectural design lists. Overlooking a river, its stunning mix of windows and concrete resemble a wormhole or cloud.

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The Stanley A. Milner Library in Edmonton, Alberta, which has 3-D printers, a sewing center, recording studios, and vinyl and laser cutters for special projects. The bright new interior of stairs and ramps beckons visitors to explore.

The Deichman Bjørvika in Oslo, which won public library of the year in 2021. In addition to stunning reading rooms, it has a cinema, a 200-seat auditorium, cafes, recording studios, rehearsal spaces and game rooms.

The United States also has plenty of laudatory new libraries, including the recently expanded Fayetteville Public Library in Arkansas, which offers an "art and movement" room, an event center and a teaching kitchen, among other amenities. In the heart of Manhattan, the renovated Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library provides not only ample places to read but also a business center, a podcasting studio, a floor dedicated to children and teens, and a rooftop terrace.

D.C.'s newly transformed Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library includes a large auditorium, conference center, rooftop terrace, cafe and music production facilities. A colorful ceiling with hanging mobiles adds to the delight.

Branch libraries are also getting makeovers. The new Southwest D.C. library aims to become a neighborhood gathering place, with a meeting room that can fit 100 people and an outdoor porch area.

Many notable renovations in recent years were funded by a combination of taxpayer money and private donations. Now is an ideal time for local governments in the United States to tap into American Rescue Plan funding to jumpstart a library project.

Libraries are the heart of communities. Even at times in the pandemic when physical libraries were closed, libraries loaned e-books and digital movies. More recently, computer labs at public libraries have become a lifeline for people applying for jobs and doing their first Zoom interviews. Some are even lending out laptops and WiFi devices.

As then-American Library Association President Julius C. Jefferson Jr. put it, "Buildings may not have been open, but libraries were never closed."

Communities that invest in libraries are well prepared for whatever the next chapter brings.
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Opinion | The golden age of public libraries dawns again

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Communities that invest in libraries are well prepared for whatever the next chapter brings.

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Le Biblioteche offrono servizi omogenei, opportunità di crescita culturale per la città e organizzano attività e progetti per le diverse fasce d'età anche in collaborazione con associazioni, enti e istituti del territorio. Sono " Biblioteche di tutti" che si propongono di entrare a far parte della vita quotidiana della cittadinanza promuovendo la lettura, il libro e l'apprendimento come strumenti indispensabili per l'emancipazione civile, sociale ed economica degli individui. L'obiettivo è favorire l'accesso alle risorse e soddisfare in modo sempre più appropriato e qualificato le esigenze di tutte le zone della città.
L'accesso alle Biblioteche è libero e gratuito. Per utilizzare i servizi è necessario essere iscritti. L'iscrizione è gratuita con un documento d'identità valido.
Il sistema è articolato in:

2 biblioteche di interesse cittadino: Biblioteca delle Oblate e Palagio di Parte Guelfa;

9 biblioteche del territorio:

2 biblioteche scolastiche gestite attraverso convenzioni con gli Istituti Scolastici di riferimento;

1 Bibliobus;

1 punto di lettura: Punto Luciano Gori;

6 punti di prestito nei centri commerciali Unicoop Firenze;

2 punti di prestito in ospedale (Ospedale Santa Maria Nuova e Ospedale San Giovanni di Dio);

3 punti di prestito all'interno degli Istituti Penitenziari Gozzini e Sollicciano.

Con offrono collezioni, servizi e attività dedicate ai estesi orari di apertura, spazi per lo studio ed il tempo libero, offerte per lo sviluppo creativo della persona e servizi adeguati ai ritmi della vita quotidiana le Biblioteche sono luoghi di incontro della comunità di riferimento. Le Biblioteche sostengono sia l'educazione individuale e l'autoistruzione, sia l'istruzione formale a tutti i livelli attraverso l'alfabetizzazione informatica e digitale e i corsi di lingua, sono servizi di prossimità e contribuiscono, valorizzando il pluralismo e le diverse tradizioni culturali, a promuovere processi di confronto e integrazione incoraggiando il dialogo interculturale. Le Biblioteche organizzano molte attività e iniziative culturali: presentazioni di libri, conferenze, rassegne letterarie, incontri sulla storia cittadina, letture ad alta voce, laboratori e bambini, ragazzi e ai giovani adulti.

Le Biblioteche mettono a disposizione un patrimonio di quasi 550.000 unità traFirenze wi-fi è possibile libri, CD e DVD riviste e quotidiani prevalentemente collocati a " scaffale aperto" cioè direttamente accessibili da parte del pubblico che permette, grazie a sistemi di collocazione semplici e intuitivi, di trovare in autonomia ciò che si cerca e di scoprire ciò che non si conosce. Grazie alle postazioni dedicate e alla rete navigare in rete per studiare e documentarsi.

Il sistema delle Biblioteche comunali fiorentine, nato nel 2012, fa parte del Sistema Documentario Integrato dell'Area Fiorentina (S.D.I.A.F), si impegna a realizzare le finalità dichiarate nel "Manifesto UNESCO per le biblioteche pubbliche" e aderisce al "Manifesto della comunicazione non ostile" ponendosi al centro di un progetto sociale di sensibilizzazione contro la violenza delle parole, la disinformazione e l'analfabetismo digitale.

Il Comune di Firenze, con le sue articolazioni territoriali di Quartiere, è titolare del servizio di pubblica lettura, gestisce il sistema delle Biblioteche comunali fiorentine con le modalità e nelle forme previste dalla normativa vigente.

Le raccolte delle Biblioteche comunali sono costituite da documenti su diversi supporti e con diversi livelli di approfondimento e sono costruite per rispondere alle esigenze informative espresse dagli utenti e per cercare di intercettare i bisogni inespressi dell'intera comunità. Le raccolte sono finalizzate alla soddisfazione di bisogni di svago, di formazione e sviluppo culturale, di studio e ricerca delle diverse fasce d'età.

Le risorse documentarie possono essere ricercate attraverso il catalogo online (OPAC) del Sistema Documentario Integrato dell'Area Fiorentina (SDIAF).

Gli iscritti alle biblioteche comunali possono accedere a DigiToscana MediaLibraryOnLine (MLOL) la biblioteca digitale che consente di accedere via internet, da qualunque luogo e gratuitamente, a quotidiani, riviste, e-book, musica, banche dati, film, immagini, audiolibri, corsi a distanza.

L'accesso alle Biblioteche è gratuito. Per utilizzare i servizi bibliotecari è necessario essere iscritti. L'iscrizione è gratuita con un documento d'identità.

Nelle Biblioteche comunali è possibile consultare e prendere in prestito libri e materiale multimediale, navigare su Internet, partecipare a incontri di consulenza digitale, visite guidate e utilizzare molti altri servizi.

Sono attivi alcuni servizi online come la pre-iscrizione, il servizio Utente in linea, la biblioteca digitale DigiToscana MediaLibraryOnLine.

Per assicurare a tutti una buona permanenza è necessario osservare un comportamento corretto e composto con il personale e con gli altri utenti; rispettare le regole della biblioteca, le scadenze, pagare i corrispettivi stabiliti quando previsti; non arrecare danni al patrimonio, agli arredi e alle strutture e non recare alcun pregiudizio al regolare funzionamento delle biblioteche.

Il Regolamento delle Biblioteche comunali fiorentine disciplina le modalità di accesso e di uso dei servizi ed è stato approvato con Deliberazione n. 29 del 29.6.2021.

La Carta dei servizi è stata approvata con Determina dirigenziale n. 08630 del 24.12.2021 e costituisce il principale strumento di comunicazione e di impegno nei confronti dell'utenza, attraverso la quale si individuano i principi, l'organizzazione e gli standard qualitativi dei servizi offerti, oltre a delineare le modalità di coinvolgimento e di partecipazione dei cittadini alla vita delle biblioteche. La Carta dei servizi viene aggiornata ogni anno.

Le Biblioteche organizzano una programmazione culturale orientata alla promozione del libro e della lettura con incontri, dibattiti, presentazioni e altre iniziative volte a promuovere la conoscenza e l'uso dei suoi servizi, la lettura, l'informazione, l'alfabetizzazione.

Le attività e i progetti vengono realizzati anche in collaborazione con enti, istituzioni, associazioni, scuole, università e altri soggetti che operano sul territorio.

Nelle Biblioteche sono presenti gruppi di lettura costituiti da persone che si ritrovano periodicamente per parlare e discutere insieme delle letture scelte e per approfondirne i temi trattati.

I gruppi di lettura hanno anche l'obiettivo di valorizzare la lettura e il dibattito come strumento di dialogo attraverso lo sguardo degli altri, conoscere nuove persone, moltiplicare gli effetti positivi della lettura attraverso lo scambio di idee, pensieri ed emozioni.

La partecipazione è libera, gratuita e aperta a tutti.

Le Biblioteche dispongono di spazi, collezioni e servizi specifici dedicati ai bambini, ai ragazzi e ai giovani, offrono consigli di lettura e organizzano attività didattiche e rivolte alle famiglie per promuovere il libro e la lettura.

Le Biblioteche organizzano periodicamente rassegne e selezioni bibliografiche dei propri materiali, per promuovere le raccolte, approfondire particolari tematiche, in occasione di ricorrenze, eventi, iniziative e progetti organizzati o realizzati in biblioteca. Le Biblioteche propongono anche liste di proposte di lettura e risorse digitali disponibili su DigiToscana MediaLibraryOnLine.

Il personale è a disposizione per la stesura di bibliografie, consigli di lettura e ricerche particolarmente complesse che non possono essere elaborate in presenza, prenotando un appuntamento, e offrono suggerimenti, bibliografie tematiche e consigli di lettura a insegnanti, educatori, genitori e a chi si occupa di bambini e ragazzi.

Le biblioteche si impegnano attivamente nella costante ricerca di alleanze con le realtà culturali e sociali del territorio, istituzionali e non istituzionali, che possano condividere i valori e gli obiettivi della biblioteca di pubblica lettura e con le quali poter avviare e realizzare proposte di coinvolgimento della cittadinanza. Sono strategiche, e particolarmente curate, le relazioni con gli Istituti scolastici di ogni
ordine e grado, con gli Uffici culturali e con gli enti e le associazioni dei quartieri di riferimento. Le biblioteche partecipano a progetti e aderiscono a convenzioni sostenuti e coordinati a livello locale, regionale e nazionale al fine di:
* promuovere il libro e la lettura, con speciale attenzione ai bambini di età prescolare e scolare, ai ragazzi e agli adolescenti (ad es. programma Nati per leggere, Chiavi della città, campagna di promozione della lettura Maggio dei Libri);

* favorire la conoscenza e la fruizione dei servizi bibliotecari e, in generale, della storia e del patrimonio culturale, sociale e ambientale della città e dei suoi quartieri, con particolare riguardo alle persone portatrici di bisogni speciali e difficoltà sensoriali/motorie/cognitive (ad es. Bibliopassi);

* sostenere l'educazione e la formazione permanente lungo tutto l'arco della vita (ad es. Progetto TRIO, Progetto Biblioteca in carcere);

* incoraggiare l'interazione tra persone di diversa nazionalità, genere, età e religione (ad es.Scaffale Circolante del Polo Regionale di Documentazione Interculturale, progetto MammaLingua, Storie per tutti, nessuno escluso);

* rendere maggiormente fruibile il patrimonio (ad es. Indice SBN, catalogo collettivo delle pubblicazioni acquisite dalle biblioteche aderenti al Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale, MedialibraryOnLine) in collaborazione con SDIAF.

Sono molte le Associazioni "Amici delle biblioteche" che collaborano e supportano le biblioteche nell'apertura delle sale lettura e nella promozione delle attività culturali, educative ed artistiche interpretando i bisogni culturali dei cittadini:

- Conoscere Firenze alla Biblioteca delle Oblate e Biblioteca Palagio di Parte Guelfa

- Amici della Biblioteca Thouar

- Taralluzzi - Amici della Biblioteca Mario Luzi

- Associazione Calzini bucati alla Biblioteca Villa Bandini

- Associazione Lib(e)ramente - Pollicino per BiblioteCaNova Isolotto

Le Associazioni Auser filo d'argento, Auser centro e Il Melograno collaborano alla realizzazione del progetto " Un libro e un volontario per amico... Leggere fa bene: libri in corsia" predisposto dalla Biblioteca delle Oblate e da BiblioteCaNova Isolotto e attivo presso l' Ospedale Nuovo San Giovanni di Dio a Torregalli e l' Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova.

Le Biblioteche aderiscono al programma dei Percorsi per le Competenze Trasversali e l'Orientamento (PCTO) affinché gli studenti delle scuole superiori possano integrare il percorso formativo con un'esperienza diretta nel mondo del lavoro e per conoscere maggiormente l'universo della biblioteca e accolgono i volontari del servizio civile universale.

Le Biblioteche rispondono ad un proprio Sistema di identità visiva, un sistema coordinato, omogeneo e ordinato che caratterizza l'immagine istituzionale delle Biblioteche comunali rendendole riconoscibili come entità unitaria all'esterno valorizzando le particolarità di ogni biblioteca.

Il Sistema, coerente con quello istituzionale della Città di Firenze, contraddistingue ogni biblioteca con un colore che è presente nel logo e in tutti i materiali di comunicazione.

Le Biblioteche monitorano costantemente la performance relativa ai servizi, le collezioni, le attività e i progetti.

Per avere una visione dell'andamento dei servizi e delle attività viene pubblicato, in collaborazione con l'Ufficio di statistica del Comune di Firenze, un report annuale con i dati rilevati e commentati e con dei focus tematici specifici.

I profili social delle Biblioteche comunali hanno l'obiettivo di promuovere i servizi, le collezioni, le attività e i progetti e il libro e la lettura come fattore di crescita culturale, personale e civile.

I canali social sono gestiti dall'ufficio promozione del Servizio Biblioteche in collaborazione con il personale delle biblioteche. I post vengono pubblicati e moderati con una frequenza quasi quotidiana e l'attività si riduce nei mesi estivi e nel periodo natalizio.

Tutti hanno il diritto di intervenire ed esprimere la propria opinione liberamente, attraverso post e commenti ai post pubblicati. Ogni intervento deve rispettare le comuni regole di civile convivenza, educazione e rispetto e i commenti e i post degli utenti rappresentano l'opinione dei singoli.

Non sono tollerati post non pertinenti, diffamatori, volgari o lesivi della persona, contenenti linguaggio d'odio o atteggiamenti che ledano la dignità delle persone e il decoro delle Istituzioni, i diritti delle minoranze e dei minori, i principi di libertà e uguaglianza e la diffusione di fake news.

Saranno rimossi contenuti che promuovono la discriminazione sulla base del genere, della lingua, della religione, delle opinioni politiche, credo, età, stato civile, nazionalità, etnia, disabilità fisica o mentale o orientamento sessuale; contenuti sessuali o link a contenuti sessuali; spam; commenti o post che presentino dati sensibili in violazione della Legge sulla privacy o qualsiasi altro commento che costituisca reato.

In caso di episodi ripetuti gli autori saranno bloccati per impedire ulteriori interventi.

Le Biblioteche comunali utilizzano i principi del "Manifesto della comunicazione non ostile", a cui hanno aderito con con Delibera di Giunta N. 2018/G/00223, come netiquette delle proprie attività digital e social.

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Le Biblioteche offrono servizi omogenei, opportunità di crescita culturale per la città e organizzano attività e progetti per le diverse fasce d'età anche in collaborazione con associazioni, enti e istituti del territorio. Sono " Biblioteche di tutti" che si propongono di entrare a far parte della vita quotidiana della cittadinanza promuovendo la lettura, il libro e l'apprendimento come strumenti indispensabili per l'emancipazione civile, sociale ed economica degli individui.

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This is a great website for parents and educators.

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Eight tips for getting your kids hooked on books -- ebooks or the paper kind. Advice from Common Sense Media editors.

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Want to increase a young child's motivation to read? Tap into their natural curiosity, a new study finds.

Bob Ebbesen / Alamy Stock Photo

"What are antennae used for, Daddy?"

We're sitting cozily on the couch reading a picture book, and my 5-year-old son is quick to spot animal features that he doesn't understand-a giraffe's neck, a turtle's shell. And ants' antenne. I mimic antennae on my head with my fingers-a natural, almost instinctive gesture-and explain to him that they're sometimes called feelers and they help ants touch and smell what's around them, especially food.

Little Scientists

In the 1930s, developmental psychologist Jean Piaget coined the term "little scientists" to describe the way young children learn: They explore the world with their senses, constructing knowledge by interacting with their surroundings and observing cause and effect. When kids play in a field, they're learning how the world works: Don't run in the mud-it's slippery and you can fall. If you climb a tree, avoid the thin branches-they may snap. Traction, density, stability: Kids explore these concepts long before they set foot in a physics class.

To explore this idea further, I recently spoke with Margaret Shavlik, lead author of a new study that found that young children prefer picture books with causal information, like explanations of the functions of animals' body parts.

"Kids are hungry for knowledge, and causality is a satisfying form of knowledge because it's not just memorizing things, it's understanding them," Shavlik told me. "There's something about that conceptual knowledge that makes it satisfying, because it's not just thinking, 'I've memorized it, let's move on,' but realizing, 'Oh, I get it now.'" This is deeply embedded in our natural instinct for survival, she explained: The better someone knows how the world works, the more likely they are to survive in it.

In the study, Shavlik and her research team at the Little Learners Lab at Vanderbilt University read picture books to 48 children who were 3 and 4 years old. They created two versions of a children's book about animals-one rich with causal information that explained how a particular behavior or body part helped the animal survive, and another that was minimally causal, presenting descriptions of the animals' features and behaviors. The researchers read the pair of books to each child and asked which one they preferred. After two weeks, they read the books to the children again, to see if they had consistent preferences.

"More than expected, children picked the causal book both times, indicating to us that it was a reliable preference over time," Shavlik told me. The children's preference for causal books was 75 percent higher than what would be expected if they were picking randomly. This can have major implications for learning, Shavlik argued, since tapping into that preference could increase kids' motivation to read, helping them build the skills for lifelong learning. "If we can capitalize on children's curiosity, then we can get them more excited about reading books," Shavlik said.

Reading to Kids Is About More Than Literacy

As our conversation continued, Shavlik explained that reading isn't just about imparting skills to children. It's also about spending quality time with them-something that has been especially important during the pandemic. We build emotional closeness with children when we sit together and share a book.

"Parents, especially right now, are such a source of information for their child, and I think a lot of parents don't realize how valuable they are to their child's development," said Shavlik. "They may think, 'Oh, I'm not a teacher,' but they are the first teacher in a child's life. They have this gift that they can offer."

So what does this mean for teachers and parents? We should switch from reading to children to reading with them, Shavlik said: Let them pick books they're interested in. Ask questions while we read to them so they're not just passively listening. Ask the "why" questions, which will spark children's interest and help them build critical early literacy skills they'll need to be successful in school and later in life.

"Finding ways to connect the book to a child's life will make it more engaging and motivating for them to read," said Shavlik.

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Want to increase a young child's motivation to read? Tap into their natural curiosity, a new study finds.

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Common Sense Media is a great resource for parents and educators.

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Everyone knows reading is good for kids. But even though it seems like a no-brainer ( pick up book, move eyeballs from word to word), you've got to mix things up so kids don't get bored, run out of choices, or feel the lure of their devices. Our 20 tips should encourage a reading habit.

From our research

Nearly two-thirds of 8- to 12-year olds read for fun at least once a week, but one in 10 say they never read anything other than what's required for school or homework.

Reading for fun drops off during the teenage years: Thirty-three percent of 8- to 12-year olds enjoy reading "a lot," compared with 23% of teens. And 34% of 8- to 12-year olds are daily readers, compared with 21% of teens.

Girls read for pleasure about eight more minutes per day than boys.

Let them choose

If your kid brings home reading material that doesn't thrill you (it's too young for them, it's not educational, it's the same book every week), try not to be judgmental (unless it's horribly inappropriate). Kids choose books for all kinds of reasons. Follow up with their teacher or school librarian, who can help them branch out and continue to provide lots of opportunities for additional reading as well as encouragement.

Feed their interests

Whatever your kid is into, you'll find books about it. If your kid's not sure about what they want to read, look around for inspiration: Are they glued to a certain TV show? (There's probably a book spin-off.) Do they have hobbies? (Rock collecting, jewelry making?) Is there a class field trip coming up? (Find a book related to the destination.) Are they jealous of their baby brother getting all the attention? (Yes, there are books about that, too.)

Go Hollywood

Many books written for kids and teens are adapted into movies. Knowing there's a big-screen version of a book can motivate kids to read the book first-or after-to compare the versions of, say, Little Women or the Bad Guys series.

Savor a series

If your kid likes the first book in a series, keep 'em coming. Check out our lists of the best book series for early readers and 8- to 12-year-olds.

Read aloud

You don't need to stop reading to your kids once they can read on their own-in fact, studies indicate it has big benefits way past their early years. This includes exposure to complex vocabulary words they might gloss over on their own, not to mention providing a good excuse to snuggle.

Have your kid read to you

Taking turns to read to each other is a nice way to further your kid's reading progress. Practicing reading aloud also helps kids build confidence in their abilities to read or present in school.

Establish device-free times and zones

It's really hard to give Harry Potter your full attention when your phone keeps going off. Eliminate all distractions by designating specific times and places in your home where devices are not welcome (but books are).

Be a reader yourself

Let your kids see you read at home. Studies show that kids read a lot more when parents keep books around, read themselves, and set aside time for reading.

Use audiobooks

Listening to stories boosts lots of skills, including pronunciation, comprehension, and the ability to think critically. Podcasts with serial installments are also a good choice.

Read all around you

Make a habit of reading signs, packages, billboards-anything with words-and ask your kid to read them, too. Play games like asking whether the information would make sense to an alien, or how the sign could use fewer words to convey the same meaning.

Try poetry

All that white space on the page can make poems feel more inviting than blocks of text, and the lyrical style can capture children's attention. Take a look at these: Shel Silverstein's Every Thing on It, Kwame Alexander's The Crossover, and Jacqueline Woodson's memoir in verse, Brown Girl Dreaming.

Visit the library

If you can't get to your local branch, see if they have an online version of a book your kid might want. You can also try Project Gutenberg, which offers thousands of free, downloadable ebooks, or download the app Libby, by OverDrive to digitally borrow books from your local library.

Consider a book subscription

Make it easy on yourself: For a monthly fee, you can join a kid's book club that mails out physical books, such as the Amazon Prime Book Box for Kids or Literati, or an ebook subscription service where you download books through an app, such as Epic!.

Be real

While fairies and superheroes tend to capture kids' attention, nonfiction books teach kids about the world, famous people, and current events.

Be relevant

The preteen years can take a toll on kids' self-esteem. Books that give kids confidence to try new things, boost their self-acceptance, or explain what's happening to their bodies can be real lifesavers. Try The Dangerous Book for Boys or The Daring Book for Girls, the Middle School Confidential app, or any of these puberty books.

Stick to a subject

Kids go through phases of genres or topics they're passionate about, from girl detectives to science fiction and fantasy. And by the way, if they want to read Wikipedia to get more information, that's fine.

Feed the favorite-author addiction

Once your kids find a writer they love, they may want to read all of their books. It's a great excuse for a trip to the library or an opportunity for book swapping among friends and classmates. Here are some good bets for favorites: Pam Muñoz Ryan (Esperanza Rising), Rick Riordan (the Percy Jackson series), Jason Reynolds (), and Marie Lu ().

Laugh out loud

Some parents wrestle with letting their kids read Diary of a Wimpy Kid, , and other edgy humor books about kids getting in trouble. Talk with your kids about the content, but keep in mind that kids like these books not because they want to imitate the characters' actions, but because they can live vicariously through their bad behavior. Humor is a great pathway to book loving.

Go graphic

Graphic novels and manga are really popular with kids-and they're not baby stuff! While they can be a good way to engage reluctant readers, they can also delve into topics ranging from deeply personal stories to social commentary and satire.

Be a storyteller

Ridiculous boss? Awkward encounter? Farting in the elevator? Recount the day's happenings with enough colorful details to keep kids' attention and they'll begin to look for stories in their own daily lives (as well as in books).
Caroline Knorr, former senior parenting editor, contributed to this story.

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Twenty ways to foster a love for books. Advice from Common Sense Media editors.

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Tips for how teachers can scaffold instruction so that students are adept at reading text on digital devices.

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The digital world affords amazing benefits when it comes to reading. We have more text readily accessible than at any other time in history. We can, in a moment, pull up text that fits a grade level, reading level, or student interest. However, this availability comes with instructional implications for teachers.

Many digital resources-from online text to e-readers, audiobooks, videos, and more-can support reading comprehension and language acquisition. But to set students up for success when integrating digital resources into your lessons, it's important to consider the following guidelines with regard to reading skills.

Eye movement

When reading on a screen, our eyes do not always move in the usual left-to-right direction, line by line, as they do with printed text.

Researchers have captured the fact that readers' eyes often move in an F pattern to take in blocks of digital text, scanning the first line or lines of text left to right but then often skimming down the left side looking for something interesting (the vertical line of an F). Another common digital layout, generally for pages with less text, creates a Z pattern of eye movement while reading. Web designers create pages with intentionally designed reading patterns that influence how our brains take in information and make decisions. Students who learn about these patterns can increase their digital literacy.

To address eye movement with students, discuss these patterns to create awareness of our natural actions as digital readers. Use the patterns as a teaching tool to discuss how the text on the page impacts what they notice. For example, you might create a worksheet with Z and F patterns, then ask students to read a digital article, track their eye movements, and respond to questions like "What does your digital text say at each of these points [in the Z and F patterns]? What did you learn at these points? What do you notice, and what do you wonder at each of these points-and about the article as a whole?"

You might give students a purpose for their reading the piece: A question to answer, or words to look for, to focus their attention.

When reading onscreen, skimming and multitasking become a distraction more than when reading printed text. Address skimming and multitasking with your students by using the following strategies: As with eye pattern tracking, encourage students to set a purpose or goal to keep them grounded in their reading, or set a goal for them; set a timer and intentionally work on students' focused reading to build stamina; remind students of reading strategies such as visualization and prediction; and, just as with print books, model reading on a digital medium, thinking through your comprehension, out loud, for students.

Name what it looks like when you lose focus during digital reading, and how you take your attention back to the text, to normalize this part of the digital reading process and demonstrate refocusing strategies.

Annotating

Annotation is key in students' keeping focused, reading with purpose, and diving deeper into what a text says. As we read on a digital platform, teachers can model what annotation looks like on the screen. Students may need time to play with annotation tools first, before transitioning to intentional use while reading.

Here are some tips and tricks for common annotation technology: iPad offers the built-in tool Markup, with which students can take a photo or make a screenshot of any text and access several drawing tools. Chromebooks and other laptops allow InsertLearning, a Chrome extension that offers live annotation options as well as many other learning supports. Drawing tools in Google Docs and Slides teach basic drawing skills to students so they can add underlines, boxes, circles, and more. And the Chromebook Camera app allows students to take a photo of text and use the camera drawing tools to annotate it.

Since time is always of the essence, use video tutorials to teach digital drawing and annotating skills in small chunks. Screen-record your moves as you annotate digital texts, so that students can return to these as references while reading.

Scaffolding

Opening Doors to Access is a great resource to support reading on iPads with built-in tools.

Read&Write for Google Chrome offers many supports for all types of reading needs.

Print Friendly & PDF Chrome extension offers a quick way to take a busy web page and create a print-friendly, text-based version. The text version can give readers a specific place to begin and simplify the message before extending comprehension by processing the accompanying webpage.

There are a number of digital reading tools that can scaffold online reading practices for students. I've found the following list useful and have enjoyed assigning student tech helpers who teach peers how to use these tools and answer questions along the way:

Digital reading is different from print reading, so it makes sense that teaching digital reading differs, too. Intentionally connecting the dots for students between how we read in print versus on digital devices can make them more aware and effective consumers of text. The above strategies are not entire lessons but offer quick interventions to include in existing reading instruction. Effective readers discuss their reading and reading behaviors. As teachers, we can set students up with needed life skills by intentionally discussing reading behaviors on devices as we do for print.

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Helping Students Learn How Best to Read on Digital Devices

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Teaching students how best to read on digital devices presents challenges. See one instructional coach's synthesis of best practices.

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Interesting blog

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Finding the right book is a challenge for many kids. It can be especially hard for advanced readers who are capable of reading significantly above their grade level. Students in fourth or fifth grade who can read at a seventh, eighth, or even high school level may gravitate toward the latest young adult sensation - think The Fault in Our Stars, If I Stay, or Twilight. But just because these kids have the ability to read these books, it doesn't mean they necessarily should.

Here are twelve books recommended as "must reads" by advanced fourth and fifth grade readers on Bookopolis.com, an online community of young readers. These stories are engaging, thought-provoking, and encourage young readers to learn more about the world - all in an age-appropriate manner. Plus, they're great reads for adults, too. Read along with your young reader and help them dig deeper by making connections from the books they read to current events, history, and their own lives.

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12 Kid-Approved Books for Advanced Fourth and Fifth Grade Readers | Brightly

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Finding the right book is a challenge for many kids. It can be especially hard for advanced readers who are capable of reading significantly above their grade level. Students in fourth or fifth grade who can read at a seventh, eighth, or even high school level may gravitate toward the latest young adult sensation - think The Fault in Our Stars, If I Stay, or Twilight.

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This website is a great resource for parents and teachers.

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Common Sense Media editors help you choose Best Books for Fifth-Graders. Compelling and thought-provoking tales for tweens.

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Reading Tips for Parents of Second Graders

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Find ways to read, write, and tell stories together with your child.Always applaud your young reader and beginning story writer! Thetips below offer some fun ways you can help your child become ahappy and confident reader. Try a new tip each week. See whatworks best for your child.

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Expose your child to 1 million words!

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Want to set a solid foundation for your children's academic future? Read to them multiple times a day, and they'll enter school having heard more than a million words.

A study from The Ohio State University found that young children who are read to five times daily (it's OK if books are repeated!) will hear nearly 1.5 million words by the time they turn 5 - boosting their language development and setting a strong foundation for school success.

Researchers randomly chose 30 of the most circulated board books and 30 of the most circulated picture books, as identified by the Columbus Metropolitan Library, and tallied up the number of words in each book. According to their findings, board books contained an average of 140 words, while picture books contained an average of 228 words.

With these averages, the researchers calculated how many words a child would hear from birth through age 5 with a mix of board books and picture books. Based on their calculations, kids who were read to once or twice a week would hear 63,570 words, while children who were read to three to five times a week would hear 169,520 words. Daily reading would result in 296,660 words, and five books a day would result in a whopping 1,483,300 words heard by age 5!

Though children's picture and board books showcase a simpler set of vocabulary than, say, a title from the Harry Potter series, many contain words that are rarely found in everyday conversations. That's why reading is so important for language exposure (even for older kids!) - everyday chatter is typically not as rich in vocabulary as books.

Additionally, the "extra-texual" talk after a reading, during which parents discuss a book with their kids, can further enhance a child's vocabulary. (Here are some storytime questions that will get you started.) Though children may not fully understand every single word they hear, this early exposure prepares them for future instances when they may encounter these words in print, such as at school.

Five readings a day may seem like a lofty goal, but you can start by adding just one book to your daily routine. Build your home library with a variety of books that both you and your child enjoy - and engage with extra-textual conversations after reading.

Find more expert-approved kindergarten books, tips, and resources at our guide to getting ready for kindergarten, including a list of BOB books as well as recommended reading for kindergarten.

Shop popular books beloved by families below! You can find all books and activities at The Scholastic Store.

Want more book and reading ideas? Sign up for our Scholastic Parents newsletter.

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How to Introduce Your Child to 1 Million Words Before Kindergarten

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Learn the importance of reading to your child every day and how doing so can help build a strong vocabulary and foundation for academic success, one book at a time.

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Find reading tips in many languages.

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Reading Tips for Parents of Preschoolers

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Read early and read often. The early years are critical to developinga lifelong love of reading. It's never too early to begin reading to your child!The tips below offer some fun ways you can help your child becomea happy and confident reader. Try a new tip each week.

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Parent information from Reading Rockets

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Reading over the summer not only keeps your child from losing ground, but actually improves skills for the coming year. Here are some suggestions to keep a book in your child's hands over the summer months.

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Tips for parents from Common Sense Media

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Ten tips for getting your kids hooked on books -- ebooks or the paper kind. Advice from Common Sense Media editors.

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Check out these great titles!

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The SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Daytime Emmy-nominated, Storyline Online, features celebrated actors reading children's books to inspire a love of reading in millions of children worldwide.

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Reading Recommendations from Gr. 4-5 ISF students

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Reading Recommendations from Gr. 4-5 ISF students

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Check out the books your friends have been raving about all year!

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Book Recommendations from students gr. 4-5 

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Access to a world of information

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Children's Literature

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KidLit TV - Explore the world of children’s literature.

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Welcome to the award-winning KidLit TV! Go on an adventure in a world of stories with us! We’re a trusted resource for parents, teachers, and librarians. KidLit TV is a winner of the Parents’ Choice Gold Award and one of the American Library Association’s Great Websites For Kids. KLTV is available in over 700,000 schools worldwide via our website and video distribution partners. Meet our diverse group of parents, educators, librarians, kid lit creators, and award-winning filmmakers working together to create fun new ways to reinforce an appreciation of reading that children will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

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Here are some titles you might enjoy.

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Reading books aloud to kids is a great way to develop language and a joy for reading.

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Build on your young listener’s love of words, information, and story with lots of reading aloud. You’re building their experiences while building vocabulary. Remember, young children can understand many more spoken words than they use. And the language in books tends to be greater and more diverse t…

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Reading books aloud is a great way to develop reading skills and promote the love of reading.

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First grade is when many children put it all together and begin to read independently. But reading aloud with first graders remains not only a pleasurable but an important activity. It encourages longer attention spans - children can focus on a page of images and words for longer periods, build their understanding of the connection between speech and print.

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Reading books aloud is a great way to develop reading skills and promote the love of reading.

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The world is a big place and there's no better to meet it than between the covers of a book shared between parents or caring adult and a child. Most children are emerging readers by now but are still building both receptive language (what they hear) as well as expressive language (what they say). They're also expanding their interests and putting ideas together in new and different ways. Books - timeworn and new, fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose - shared aloud allows both adult and child to explore together.

See also: Great Read Alouds for Kids: Babies to Grade 3.

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The world is a big place and there's no better to meet it than between the covers of a book shared between parents or caring adult and a child. Most children are emerging readers by now but are still building both receptive language (what they hear) as well as expressive language (what they say).

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Reading books aloud is a great way to develop reading skills and promote the love of reading.

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Often adults think just because children can read by themselves that reading aloud is no longer important. It is! What better way to tackle tough topics than by sharing a book and talking about it? Questions may include what a child thinks of a character's behavior or actions (what would you do if...? Or how would it feel to be in...?). Interests and ideas keep on coming but remember, children's reading levels are usually lower than what they understand when books are shared aloud. Empathy, experience, vocabulary and a love of language continue to grow long after children can read by themselves.

See also: Great Read Alouds for Kids: Babies to Grade 3.

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Often adults think just because children can read by themselves that reading aloud is no longer important. It is! What better way to tackle tough topics than by sharing a book and talking about it? Questions may include what a child thinks of a character's behavior or actions (what would you do if...?

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Try one of these award-winning books!

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Find out about the annual winners of the Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, and Pura Belpré Illustrator Award - as well as other children's book awards from the American Library Association and other literacy organizations. Many organizations end the year with a "best of" list of children's books. Here are links to the awards and lists that we like, including selections from the Children's Book Council, School Library Journal, Horn Book, Parent's Choice, The New York Times, and many more.

In this section:

2020 Newbery Medal

The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. One or more Honor books are recognized each year as well.

New Kid
by Jerry Kraft
Purchase book >

2020 Caldecott Medal

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association to the author of the most distinguished American picture book for children. One or more Honor books are recognized each year as well.

The Undefeated
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Purchase book >

2020 Coretta Scott King Awards

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are awarded annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. One or more Honor books are recognized each year as well.

2020 Coretta Scott King Author Award

New Kid
by Jerry Kraft
Purchase book >
2020 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award

The Undefeated
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Purchase book >

2020 Pura Belpré Awards

The Pura Belpré is awarded annually by the American Library Association honoring a Latino writer illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience. One or more Honor books are recognized each year as well.

2020 Pura Belpré Author Award

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe
by Carlos Hernandez
Purchase book >
2020 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award

Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln
Illustrated by Rafael López
Purchase book >

Awards from American Library Association Affiliates

Other notable awards

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Find out about the annual winners of the Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, and Pura Belpré Illustrator Award - as well as other children's book awards from the American Library Association and other literacy organizations. Many organizations end the year with a "best of" list of children's books.

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Looking for a new title? Check out these outstanding books.

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This site uses cookies and other tracking technologies to administer and improve your experience on our site, to help diagnose and troubleshoot potential server malfunctions, and to gather use and demographic information. See our cookie policy Skip to Content

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Only 17% of parents of kids ages 9-11 read aloud to their children. Yet 83% of kids ages 6-17 say being read to is something they either loved or liked a lot. (Scholastic's "Kids & Family Reading ReportTM")

Mom Andrea Chisholm, echoes this sentiment, "Even though my older one can easily read books himself, he still loves to be read to at night."

For many kids, being read to by their parents is a cherished ritual. But it's also much more than that. Reading aloud to kids helps expand their literacy skills, love of reading, worldview, and more. Here are some key reasons it's important to read aloud to your older kids:

Lets Them Experience the Joy of Story
The goal is to love the story. That's the point of reading, unless you're reading for meaning. When my oldest daughter didn't "take" to reading as I'd hoped, I let her listen to hours of audiobooks and read aloud to her multiple times a day. I wanted her to get hooked on the stories in the chapter books, without the frustration of reading them. Like her, all readers - and especially struggling readers - learn to love stories by hearing stories.

Models Fluent Reading
When you read to kids, you're modeling how to read language. You pause at commas and periods. Your voice inflection changes when you read questions or exclamations. And you can show what you, a fluent reader, do when you come to a word you don't know. (Even if you're faking that you don't know it.)

Helps Expand Their Vocabulary
Kids' auditory comprehension is higher than their reading comprehension. When you pick a challenging book that your kids can't read on their own, you are exposing them to a wealth of new vocabulary words. This stretches a child's language development, particularly if you stop to talk about the meaning of these harder words.

Exposes Kids to New Authors, Texts, and Genres
Reading aloud can get kids hooked on a new author or series of books. Once a child falls in love with the story or author, it's hard to hold them back from reading it on their own.

Plus, reading aloud gives kids a chance to explore genres and texts they wouldn't normally select.

"I often read the first chapter or two of a new book to my daughter to pull her into a book that she might not have chosen otherwise," says Natalie Figge of Planet Smarty Pants.

There are so many amazing books that kids don't pick to read on their own. These books make great read alouds - in what I call the "just give this book a chance" category.

Builds Awareness and Empathy
Literature is one of the best ways to help kids understand something without experiencing it for themselves. And books do this with all sorts of subjects and concepts, building our children's understanding of humanity and the world around them.

Improves Kids' Long-Term Reading Success
Finally, you probably know that decades of research shows that reading aloud to a child daily is one of the most important activities for her reading success. That goes for older kids, too. Kids who are read to have good vocabularies, write well, and do well overall in school (Hiebert, Scott, & Wilkinson, 1985 U. S. Department of Education meta-study of 10,000 studies). They're also more likely to keep reading on their own.

Awesome Read-Alouds for Big Kids

Looking for some great books to read aloud to your big kid tonight? Check out some of our favorites!

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The Importance of Reading Aloud to Big Kids | Brightly

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Only 17% of parents of kids ages 9-11 read aloud to their children. Yet 83% of kids ages 6-17 say being read to is something they either loved or liked a lot. (Scholastic's "Kids & Family Reading ReportTM") Mom Andrea Chisholm, echoes this sentiment, "Even though my older one can easily read books himself, he still loves to be read to at night."

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TEDx Talk

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Why we should all be reading aloud to children | Rebecca Bellingham | TEDxYouth@BeaconStreet

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Tips for Parents

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For many kids, reading doesn't come easily. Some kids have trouble making the connection between letters and their sounds. Other kids have not yet found a story that interests them and shows just how fun reading can be.

For all kids, though, knowing letters, sounds, and words are important skills for learning throughout life.

Read with your kids often, and try these other simple ways to help them become excited about reading:

Start with your child's picks. Kids are more likely to read something that interests them. For example, comics or joke books can be a fun pick for your child. A comic book can help kids understand that events take place in order because stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. They also help build vocabulary and show that books can be fun to look at. Once your child is comfortable with reading, you can encourage other options with a variety of challenging content.

Read and reread. Many kids reach for the same books over and over again. That's not only OK, it's a good thing! Repetition helps kids learn the text and in time read it with confidence. Each new reading of the book also may help them notice something new and understand the story a little better. And that positive experience can inspire kids to try new books.

Read aloud. Reading aloud to your kids helps them build their vocabulary and introduces new facts and ideas. You also show that you enjoy reading for fun, and help them connect sounds with letters on the page. Reading aloud provides time together that you'll all enjoy.

Create opportunities to read and write beyond the pages. Provide kids with many chances to read every day. Write notes and leave them on your child's pillow, in a lunchbox, or in a pocket. Ask friends and relatives to send postcards, letters, e-mails, or text messages. Leave magnetic letters and words on the fridge, and you may find your child also creating words, sentences, and stories.

On car/bus/train trips or errands, play word games that build language skills. You might try "I Spy" ("I spy something that starts with an 'a' ...") or games where you pick a category (like "food") and everyone has to name foods that begin with a certain letter. Kids often enjoy reading the signs they see while outside (like those on restaurants and stores, plus road signs and billboards).

Sometimes electronic books (e-books) can help encourage reading. When your kid becomes interested in a book, regardless of the format, help make connections between the story and your child's life. Start conversations that build a love of reading and learning.

Get help if you're worried. If you're concerned about your child's ability or willingness to read, get help. Talk to your child's doctor or teacher. They may be able to suggest ways to help your child become an excited reader.

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For many kids, reading doesn't come easily. Some kids have trouble making the connection between letters and their sounds. Other kids have not yet found a story that interests them and shows just how fun reading can be. For all kids, though, knowing letters, sounds, and words are important skills for learning throughout life.

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Tips for Grade 4 Parents

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Tips for Foundation Parents

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Tips for Grade 1 Parents

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Tips for Grade 2 Parents

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Tips for Grade 3 Parents

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Tips for Grade 5 Parents