Parents Center: How You Can Help An Adnanced Reader

If your child is reading independently and fluently, you should continue to encourage reading for fun and for information. Here are ten ways to help your child continue to grow as a reader:

Model good behavior. Your child wants to be just like you, so read around her whenever you can. Don't wait until after bedtime to dive into your novel. When you're reading mail, shopping lists, notes, or catalogs, share what you're reading with your child.

Let your child pick out books. Your job is to make reading fun and to instill a love of the written word in your child. Don't worry too much if your child isn't interested in Madeline L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time or other classics yet. If your child wants to read comic books, that's okay.

Get to know the librarian. Go to the library as often as you can or as often as your child wants to go. Encourage your child to get to know the librarian so she can help pick out interesting books or books that relate to your child's interests.

Read to your child. We're never too old to be read to. Read an interesting magazine article to your child. Go to a poetry or book reading at a bookstore or library. Let her pick out an advanced "chapter book" that will take a while to complete, and read a piece of the book every night. Elaine McEwan, reading specialist and author of How to Raise a Reader, recommends the following books for advanced readers: Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg, and Old Yeller by Fred Gipson.

Select books that convey information. Introduce your child to nonfiction and instructional books. Read about a city before you visit, learn how machines work, or ask her to read about a holiday tradition and share that information with the family over holiday dinner.

Set aside quiet time for reading. Thirty minutes of quiet time for reading before or after dinner, for example, reinforces the idea that reading is part of the daily routine. Have everyone in the family participate; this is an activity for all ages. If possible, after reading time discuss everyone's books for a few minutes.

Find longer chapter books. Advanced readers can handle a thicker book and grasp intricate story lines. If necessary, review earlier parts of the book each night with your child. You might even want to read the same book yourself to keep up with the story. Introduce your child to books you loved when you started to master reading: Charlotte's Web, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Secret Garden, and Island of the Blue Dolphins are favorites.

Keep the flow going. When your child is reading aloud to you, don't labor over mistakes and difficult words. If your child loves Harry Potter books and the vocabulary seems too difficult, don't stop to look up every unknown word. Let your child enjoy the story. Your child can mark unknown words and later look up definitions and write them in a homemade dictionary.

Lighten up. Don't make reading an assignment or require a certain amount every night. "Reading time should only last as long as the child is interested," says elementary school teacher and reading specialist Cindy Pfost. "Don't overdo it."

source from http://parentcenter.babycenter.com