The significance of reading aloud to children

According to the National Institute of Education, “the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children” When the teacher reads aloud, children have the opportunity to hear the rhythm, flow, and variety of book language; giving the children an increased vocabulary, complex language, improvement and comprehension skills.

Literature offers many opportunities for creative dramatics, both interpreting and improvising. Children interpret a story when they dramatize it following the plot closely; they are improvising when they create their own plot. A teacher can also have the children provide all the dialogue and add words or phrases that would help move the story along. (Giorgis, & Glazer, 2009). Encouraging the children to respond to books orally can also strengthen through role-playing and improvising too. For a more formal storytelling event, one might even dress in costume or have story props or puppets. Role play helps in providing a stimulus for drama that does not follow the content of the story and involves the being able to understand the viewpoint of another. Depending on the age of the children, using masks and puppets can also be incorporated into story- telling; the important thing is to make sure that children can manipulate the puppets easily in order to allow them concentrate on the action and dialogue.

In storytelling, eye contact and shared reference are critical to establishing and keeping the attention of the students. This allows the teacher to closely monitor children’s comprehension of the story and attentiveness. If children become restless and distracted, he or she can adjust either by increasing the dramatic features of the story (intonation, gesture) to attract their attention or by shortening the story. One way of adding visual interest to oral storytelling is to use hand or finger puppets, felt-board characters, props, or musical instruments.

Before the story-telling begins, it is helpful to start the discussion by focusing on the original objective. The educator needs to prepare for listening or reading with discussion and questions, provides background information and ask children to predict what might happen. Educators must set a goal for listening or reading, such as “try to remember which part of the story you like best” and read the story with expression and show the illustrations, pause at the natural breaks for children’s reaction, comments, or questions. Encourage children to chant a long or read some of the words. If children are reading, have them read the story all the way through.

Reading to children helps them understand how print functions and how it is used. They learn how to handle books; recognize that stories have beginning, middle and end. (Golbeck, 2001). As educators, we can bring students stories that they cannot handle on their own, that they might not choose, that at first seem outside their range of experiences of print. Children can step outside their own culture, their past lives, and their experiences, into other worlds…strange, different, unsettling or fantastic…meet characters that they did not know existed. They can be transported into story worlds with no fear of word recognition. In reading aloud, the deepest issues can be explored, clarified and wondered about. We all become part of the story experience.

Erikson divided the human life span into eight periods; at each stage of life, he said, people have specific tasks to master, and each stage generates it own social and emotional conflicts. Thus, the goal of early childhood educator becomes to tip the scale in favor of positive characteristics over the negative ones.

Research shows that developing children’s personality improves academic performance and prevents problem behavior. One of the ways that educators can implement is story-telling; Reading to children can prove to be the perfect medium to pass on the lessons of life and make a child more proficient socially and emotionally. It is one of the most easiest and convenient ways to instill values and virtues within a child. Instilling these values helps children communicate well, work well with classmates and manage emotions.

Over the preschool and early grade-school years, children show rapid advances in their ability to identify the emotions that other people are likely to feel in particular situations. Children in grades one to three like to talk about their emotions and the emotions of characters in literature. They are able to make emotional inferences about characters’ emotional states and discuss how they are or are not appropriate to the story. They can then relate these emotional states to their own lives and to events at home and in the classroom.

A common method for assessing children’s understanding of the causes of emotion is to expose them to short stories that are accompanied by pictures or drawings, and to ask them to describe or pick out a face showing how the story character feels How Are You Peeling? Foods with Moods by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers offers brief text and photographs of carvings made from vegetables that introduce the world of emotions by presenting leading questions such as “Are you feeling angry?” Children with good social and emotional skills have a strong attachment to school. They demonstrate a sense of belonging, perceive teachers as supportive and caring, make good friends and feel engaged in their academic progress. (Morrison, 2009)

A New Home a new Friend by Hans Wilhelm is another book that helps children cope with such difficulties. This book shows children and even animals able to cope with problems. Moving to a new town can be hard; it hurts to say good-bye friends. Leaving something familiar and nice and not knowing what the new place will be like can be a little bit scary. Literature has the potential to support children’s personality development by enhancing self-esteem, providing a sense of security, feelings, and emotions. It can also support children’s social and moral development by facilitating an understanding of others; it is through literature that an awareness of social values can grow. (Saxby & Winch, 1987)

Through literature, children can understand that they are not alone in encountering problems. Literature also has the potential to help children see themselves capable and have the resources that will help them overcome difficulties and unexpected events (Giorgis, C. & Glazer, J. 2009, p. 182).

Everything teachers plan and do should focus on the individual child. They tailor, adjust, and adapt the curriculum to fit each child in the program, rather than expecting children to fit the program (Elkind, 1987). It is imperative in a developmentally appropriate perspective that the curriculum and teaching methods be age appropriate, individually appropriate, and culturally appropriate (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997). This means considering and understanding similarities within an age group, and also recognizing each child’s individual differences. In a developmentally appropriate classroom, children are allowed to progress at their own rate, and both the curriculum and teaching strategies are relevant for all the children in the classroom. Thus, a great deal of flexibility is required, but this does not mean a total lack of structure and academics; rather, it means that the structure and academics of the program are based on individual and group needs and current understanding of child development (Raines, 1997).

(Eliason. A Practical Guide to Early Childhood Curriculum, 8th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions 6).

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