What is the significance of Tims reference to the book he is reading?

Table of Contents Show

Storytelling and songs
Reading to your child in other languages
When to read, sing and tell stories with your child
Tips for sharing books with babies and young children
What sorts of books to read with your child
Using your local library

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Sharing stories, talking and singing every day helps your child’s development in many ways.

Reading and sharing stories can:

help your child get to know sounds, words and language, and develop early literacy skills
learn to value books and stories
spark your child’s imagination and stimulate curiosity
help develop your child’s brain, ability to focus, concentration, social skills and communication skills
help your child learn the difference between ‘real’ and ‘make-believe’
help your child understand new or frightening events, and the strong emotions that come with them
help your child learn about the world, their own culture and other cultures.

Sharing stories with your child doesn’t mean you have to read from the book.

Just by looking at books with your child and talking about them, you can be a great storyteller and a good model for using language and books. Your child will learn by watching you hold a book the right way and seeing how you move through the book by gently turning the pages.

Reading stories with children has benefits for grown-ups too. The special time you spend reading together promotes bonding and helps to build your relationship with your child.

You can start reading aloud to your baby as early as you like – the earlier the better. Your baby will love being held in your arms, listening to your voice, hearing rhyme and rhythm, and looking at pictures.

Storytelling and songs

Reading isn’t the only way to help with your child’s language and literacy development.

Telling stories, singing songs and saying rhymes together are also great activities for early literacy skills – and your child will probably have a lot of fun at the same time. Sometimes your child might enjoy these activities more than reading.

You and your child might like to make up your own stories or share family stories. Your child will learn words and develop language skills from the songs, stories and conversations you share together.

Reading to your child in other languages

You can read, sing and tell stories with your child in whatever language you feel most comfortable speaking.

Using a language you’re comfortable with helps you to communicate more easily. It also helps to make reading, singing and storytelling more fun for you and your child. Your child will still learn that words are made up of different letters, syllables and sounds, and that words usually link to the pictures on the page.

Don’t worry if English isn’t your child’s first language. Being bilingual actually helps your child learn English when they start playgroup, kindergarten or school.

Dual-language books are a great resource, and many children’s books are published in two languages. If you speak a language other than English at home, reading dual-language books with your child might also help you become more familiar with English.

Another option is to read a book aloud in English or listen to an audio book in English and then talk about the story with your child in whatever language feels most comfortable.

If you like, you can talk about the pictures in the book instead of reading the words. Could you and your child make up a story together? Do what you can and as much as you’re comfortable with.

When to read, sing and tell stories with your child

Bedtime, bath time, potty time, on the train, on the bus, in the car, in the park, in the pram, in the cot, when you’re in the GP’s waiting room ... any time is a good time for a story! You can make books part of your daily routine – take them with you to share and enjoy everywhere.

Knowing when to stop can be just as important as finding the time to share a story in the first place. Pay attention to your child’s reaction to the story, and stop if your child isn’t enjoying it this time. You can always try a book, song or story another time.

If you don’t have a book or can’t make up a story on the spot, don’t worry. There are many other ways you and your child can share letters, words and pictures. For example, you can look at:

packages at home or in the supermarket, especially food packaging
clothing – what does it say on the t-shirt? What colour is it?
letters and notes – what do they say? Who sent them?
signs or posters in shops, or on buses and trains – point out signs that have the same letters as your child’s name
menus – it can be fun for older children to look at menus and work out what they want to eat.

You could check out our storytelling videos. Let storyteller Anne E. Stewart introduce you and your child to ‘Mook Mook the owl’, ‘The crocodile’ and ‘The old lady and the mosquito’.

Make a routine and try to share at least one book every day. A reading chair where you’re both comfortable can become part of your reading routine.
Turn off the TV or radio, put your phone on silent, and find a quiet place to read so your child can hear your voice.
Hold your child close or on your knee while you read, so your child can see your face and the book.
Try out funny noises and sounds – play and have fun!
Involve your child by encouraging talk about the pictures, and by repeating familiar words and phrases.
Let your toddler choose the books when they’re old enough to start asking – and be prepared to read your toddler’s favourite books over and over again!

If you have older children, they can share books with your younger children, or you can all read together. Taking turns, asking questions and listening to the answers are all important skills that will help children when they start learning how to read.

Just reading for a few minutes at a time is good – you don’t always have to finish the book. As children grow, they can usually listen for longer.

What sorts of books to read with your child

As a broad rule, young children often enjoy books, songs and stories that have good rhyme, rhythm and repetition. In fact, one of the ways that children learn is through repetition and rhyme.

Choose books that are the right length for your child and that match your child’s changing interests.

For a guide to what might suit your child, you can look at the following articles:

You can also vary the books and printed materials you read. Picture books, ebooks, magazines, instruction manuals, TV guides and letters can all be interesting and engaging for your child.

If you’re interested in ebooks, look for ones without distracting games or animations. And it’s important to enjoy ebooks with your child, rather than leaving your child alone with a device.

If you want to try new books or magazines without much cost, you could arrange book swaps with friends, or with other parents at your parent group or early childhood centre.

Using your local library

Libraries have a lot to offer. Getting to know your local library can be a part of learning about and loving books.

You can borrow great children’s books for free from your local library. This means you can have plenty of books in your home for your child to explore – and it won’t cost you a cent.

Taking your child to the library and letting them choose their own books can be a fun adventure. You can talk about and plan your trip to the library with your child, and get excited together. You could ask your child, for example:

How many books will you choose?
How many books can you find by your favourite author?
Will you borrow books that have animals in them?
Do you have a favourite book you’d like to borrow again?
How many days will it be before we go to the library again?

Libraries also offer story times and activities for young children. Going along to these sessions is a way to help your child get familiar with the library, have fun and enjoy books and stories. Some libraries offer these sessions online.

Libraries often have audio books, dual-language books, ebooks and magazines. You can listen to audio books in the car or as a family at home together.

Just contact your local library for more information.

Active readers use reading strategies to help save time and cover a lot of ground. Your purpose for reading should determine which strategy or strategies to use.

What is it? Previewing a text means that you get an idea of what it is about without reading the main body of the text.

When to use it: to help you decide whether a book or journal is useful for your purpose; to get a general sense of the article structure, to help you locate relevant information; to help you to identify the sections of the text you may need to read and the sections you can omit.

To preview, start by reading:

the title and author details
the abstract (if there is one)
then read only the parts that ‘jump out’; that is: main headings and subheadings, chapter summaries, any highlighted text etc.
examine any illustrations, graphs, tables or diagrams and their captions, as these usually summarise the content of large slabs of text
the first sentence in each paragraph

What is it? Skimming involves running your eye very quickly over large chunks of text. It is different from previewing because skimming involves the paragraph text. Skimming allows you to pick up some of the main ideas without paying attention to detail. It is a fast process. A single chapter should take only a few minutes.

When to use it: to quickly locate relevant sections from a large quantity of written material. Especially useful when there are few headings or graphic elements to gain an overview of a text. Skimming adds further information to an overview.

How to skim:

note any bold print and graphics.
start at the beginning of the reading and glide your eyes over the text very quickly.
do not actually read the text in total. You may read a few words of every paragraph, perhaps the first and last sentences.
always familiarise yourself with the reading material by gaining an overview and/or skimming before reading in detail.

What is it? Scanning is sweeping your eyes (like radar) over part of a text to find specific pieces of information.

When to use it: to quickly locate specific information from a large quantity of written material.

To scan text:

after gaining an overview and skimming, identify the section(s) of the text that you probably need to read.
start scanning the text by allowing your eyes (or finger) to move quickly over a page.
as soon as your eye catches an important word or phrase, stop reading.
when you locate information requiring attention, you then slow down to read the relevant section more thoroughly.
scanning and skimming are no substitutes for thorough reading and should only be used to locate material quickly.

What is it? Intensive reading is detailed, focused, ‘study’ reading of those important parts, pages or chapters.

When to use it: When you have previewed an article and used the techniques of skimming and scanning to find what you need to concentrate on, then you can slow down and do some intensive reading.

How to read intensively:

start at the beginning. Underline any unfamiliar words or phrases, but do not stop the flow of your reading.
if the text is relatively easy, underline, highlight or make brief notes (see ‘the section on making notes from readings).
if the text is difficult, read it through at least once (depending on the level of difficulty) before making notes.
be alert to the main ideas. Each paragraph should have a main idea, often contained in the topic sentence (usually the first sentence) or the last sentence.
when you have finished go back to the unfamiliar vocabulary. Look it up in an ordinary or subject-specific dictionary. If the meaning of a word or passage still evades you, leave it and read on. Perhaps after more reading you will find it more accessible and the meaning will become clear. Speak to your tutor if your difficulty continues.
write down the bibliographic information and be sure to record page numbers (more about this in the section on making notes from readings).

Remember, when approaching reading at university you need to make intelligent decisions about what you choose to read, be flexible in the way you read, and think about what you are trying to achieve in undertaking each reading task.