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Reading With Your Child
According to The National Association for the Education of Young Children,
New insights
into brain development affirm what many parents and caregivers have known
for years
warm and loving attachments between young children and adults,
and positive stimulation from the time of birth, really do make a
difference in childrens development for a lifetime."
The Snuggle Factor: Current brain research
confirms that learning is strongly influenced by emotion. In fact, some
researchers believe that literacy is directly influenced by emotional
capacity and/or the strong relationships the child establishes in the
first year of life. Therefore, when a young child
experiences comfort, safety, and peace while being read to, chemicals in
the brain lay the groundwork for literacy by sending the message that this
is a pleasurable experience.
The Fear Factor: The opposite is also true.
Just as a pleasurable experience enhances attention, learning, meaning,
and memory, a negative event also causes connections to be made. When a
stressful experience releases chemicals in the brain, sending the message
that this, too, must be remembered, the pathway to fear is widened.
Therefore, when reading to groups of children, patience is more than a
virtue. It is a vital tool through which pleasurable connections can be
made.
A Pattern of Awareness: Reading with your
child can also bring your child to a place of awareness called
reading readiness. As we discussed in
the article How Young Children Learn on our
home page, oral language is the foundation upon
which reading skills are based. When your child begins to make the
transition from oral to written language, you may want to encourage the
process by helping him develop the following patterns of awareness:
Practical Pre-Reading Skills:
-
print awareness
(combinations of letters in specific order)
-
spatial
awareness (words are separated by space, paragraph placement ...)
-
left-to-right /
top-to-bottom progression (flow of text)
-
auditory
discrimination (hearing letter sounds)
-
visual
discrimination (differing shapes of letters or graphemes)
-
book covers
(front and back), name of author and illustrator
-
interpreting
picture clues or cues (anticipating story line through pictures)
-
following the
development of a story (sequence of events)
-
prediction (what
will happen next)
Here's a guarantee:
When reading with your child, if you like the book, so will your child.
So, be sure to choose books that YOU
enjoy!
________________________
Emotions drive our attention, learning, meaning, and
memory.
Productive emotions are enhanced during times
of celebration, storytelling, curiosity, mystery, big projects, drama,
physical activity, music, art ...
Playing and listening to music strengthens the
synapses between nerve cells.
The brain changes physiologically as a result of
experience. The environment in which a brain operates determines to a
large degree the functioning ability of that brain.
"New brain research shows not only that music is
fun, but also that it improves our brain development and even enhances
skills in other subjects such as reading and math."
- Norman Weinberger, Educational
Leadership, November 1998 |