Reading As A Family For The Child’s Reading Comprehension

Children want to learn new things. Their whole reality consists of constant discoveries in a world that is new to them. Books, letters and words play an important role in this process. In fact, children are fascinated by them even before they develop their own ability to read. Another thing that is at least as important in its development is the child’s reading comprehension.

You have probably seen young children hold books and “read” stories even if they do not know how to do it yet. Thus, they interpret the images they see and imagine fantastic worlds, limited only by their creative abilities.

As a rule, children learn to read during the early stages of development. They learn to interpret the symbols we call letters and to link them together to form meaningful words.

As children learn to read, they begin to work on a new skill that many parents do not necessarily take into account: reading comprehension. What role does the family play during this stage? A very important one, as it turns out.

The child’s reading comprehension and the family

Research from authors such as Stevenson and Rasinski shows that parental involvement to improve reading comprehension while children begin to learn to read is important and should be supported.

Rasinski and Stevenson studied the effects of parental involvement in a reading development project. The study involved the families of primary school students in first grade.

During the study, the researchers analyzed the progress of children with different levels of literacy. The children were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups.

The parents in the control groups did assignments together with their children. They received instructions from the schools to read to their children, but not systematically. They would do it only occasionally, among other tasks they were also given.

The parents in the experimental groups received training to help their children improve their fluency in reading. They used materials specifically recommended by supervisors and spent 15 minutes a day on the project.

The importance of the family

According to the study, the students who received specific help from their parents during the experiment developed more than the children in the control groups.

The children in the experimental groups showed greater ability to recognize words. They were also able to perform word recognition tasks faster than children in the control groups. The children in the experimental groups also improved their reading comprehension and fluency.

It is also important to emphasize that the children who participated in the research study were very enthusiastic about the experience, they thought it was very fun. In fact, they felt that they had learned to read better, to understand difficult words, and to learn something new with each reading.

How the family can get involved in the child’s reading comprehension

Now that you know how useful parental and family involvement is for a child’s reading comprehension, what do you do to implement these ideas? Here is a suggestion:

• A supervisor should provide the family with communication channels. They can use informative reports, personal contact and periodic meetings to encourage reading activities at home.
• Parents usually do not have much free time. Thus, these reading lessons should only take about 10 to 15 minutes per day. However, parents should try to perform them consistently, every day if possible.
• Parents are not professional teachers, so they should be educated and watch demonstrations by professionals. In this way, they become equipped to perform these reading comprehension programs.

• Parents should be given specific materials to teach fluent reading. For example, poems, books with songs, riddles, etc. The material should be appropriate for the child’s level and gradually increase in difficulty.
• The best types of shared reading activities are simple, enjoyable and short. This will help arouse the child’s interest.
• Teachers should develop evaluation forms so that parents and other teachers can see the child’s progress.

Now you know how important the family is for children’s reading comprehension. This means that you know that it is the parents ‘and guardians’ responsibility to do their best to provide optimal learning conditions for their children.