Children who can read can succeed, and here is one way to make sure that happens….read out loud to your students! Many of us read to our kids when they are young, but as they grow older and are able to read independently, we stop. Jim Trelease in The Read Aloud Handbook tells us that this is the most critical time to continue reading to your child. You not only model an important practice for them to continue when they are parents, you introduce them to new types of books and vocabulary they many not encounter on their own. Children can get in a rut and read the same type of books over and over. You can be a source of other choices.
So, build some time for reading out loud to your child during your next mentoring hour….it DOES make a difference!