Keeping up reading during the summer has an impact on academic performance during the school year. Encouraging students to read by making it a natural part of the summer is a great way to help students become lifelong learners. Below are a few suggestions on how to incorporate reading into your child’s daily activities and also some questions to help students think deeply about what they are reading.
Reading is Fun
- Act out a scene from the book.
- Draw a picture of your favorite part of the book to decorate the refrigerator.
- Write a review of the book or write a letter to the author.
- Read aloud together as a family.
- Make weekly visits to the library.
- Always keep a book in the car.
- Watch a movie with the subtitles on.
Questions to Guide Your Child’s Reading
Thinking while reading, rather than passively reading will help children develop into active readers who are well equipped to discuss literature in class. It can also help improve their writing skills. Here are some questions to ask your child before, while and after they read a book.
Before Reading:
- Looking at the title, cover and illustrations/pictures, what do you think will happen in the book?
- What makes you think that?
- What characters do you think might be in the book?
- Do you think there will be a problem in the story? What? Why?
- What do you already know about the topic of this book?
- Does the topic or story relate to you or your family? How?
- Do you think it will be like any other book you’ve read? If so, which one, and how do you think it will be similar?
During Reading:
- What has happened so far in the story? Can you tell me using sequence words (first, then, next, after, finally, etc.)
- What do you predict will happen next?
- How do you think the story will end?
- Why do you think the characters have acted the way they have?
- What would you have done if you were the character?
- When you read, what pictures did you see in your head? How did you imagine what it looks like?
- What are you wondering about as you read? What questions do you have?
- Think about the predictions you made before reading: do you still think the story will go that way? Why or why not? How do you think it will go now?
After Reading:
- Why is the title a good title for the book/story? If you had to give a different title, what would it be?
- Were your predictions correct? Did you have to adjust your prediction as you read?
- If there was a problem, did it get solved? How did the character try to solve the problem?
- What happened because of the problem?
- Did any of the characters change through the story? Who changed, and how did they change?
- Why do you think the author wrote this?
- What is the most important point that the author is trying to make in his/her writing?
- What was your favorite part? Why?
- If you could change one part, what would you change?
- If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask?
- Does this book remind you of another book you know? How is it similar or different?
