Reading Backwards for World Read Aloud Day

I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! by Dr. Seuss is one of our favorite books to read aloud. There are so many ways you can practice reading.


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BACKWARDS:
Lately we’ve been reading many of our books backwards. Start with the last word in the book. My son is still learning his sight words and beginning blending sound words.  As we read his simple phonics books with a few words on the page I like to challenge him to read it backwards. This way, he can’t just guess what word is next based on pictures or context alone.
My son thinks it is so silly to read the words backwards.  It keeps things interesting and keeps the focus on learning the words.
TAP:
Another tip I like for beginning readers is to just point under the word if your child pronounced it wrong. Let them know this is the sign you make when you want them to try it again.  I don’t like to interrupt my kids while they are reading. If they make a simple sound wrong I just tap under the word, wait for them to try it again and if they are still struggling I’ll remind them to sound it out. Sometimes it helps to use a pencil to point.

ALOUD
Make sure to read aloud to your children and have them read aloud to you. Once my daughter started reading chapter books quietly in her head I realized she was skipping over the challenging words or thinking of the pronunciation incorrectly for a character’s name throughout the entire book. When she would tell me about the book I realized this was a problem.  I told her if she finds a challenging word she can ask me about it or write it on her bookmark to ask me later.
WORLD READ ALOUD DAY: March 7
Worldwide at least 793 million people remain illiterate. Imagine a world where everyone can read... Find out more about the World Read Aloud Day challenge and share what you are doing at LitWorld.org.

Take this day to cherish the fact you can read and share that love of reading with your children.

World Read Aloud Day: Read Along Video of Children's Pirate Book

Ahoy Mateys!  In honor of "World Read Aloud Day" we wanted to share one of our favorite children's books to read aloud.
The Castaway Pirates, by Ray Marshall, is my son's favorite book right now.  We shared this video back in September for "Talk like a Pirate Day" but I thought it be appropriate for today to encourage others to pick up a book and read it aloud.

As soon as I started reading The Castaway Pirates, a natural Pirate tune started to come out from the rhyming sentences. Will the shark eat the pirates with stinky toes?  Watch our video below to find out. The ending of the story makes us laugh everytime. The pop-up illustrations, by Wilson Swain, are amazing. The video below is of me reading parts of the book with him so you can hear how we sing the book.  My son loves singing along and watching out for the shark.

Published by Chronicle Books, you can buy the book or print a Pirate Paper Doll on their site.

Did you know?

A federal study[i] found that only 1 in 7 adults are able to read anything more than a children’s picture book or instructions on a pill bottle.

According to another survey, only 55 percent of children ages three to six are read to by family members every day.[ii] Parents would be amazed to learn that every year they read to their child each day, it increases that child’s future potential income by $50,000. [iii]

             

i U.S. Education Department National Assessment of Adult Literacy, 1992-2003
ii The School Readiness Survey of the 2007 National Household Education Survey
iii Children’s Reading Foundation

World Lit asks: What would you miss most if you could not read or write?

There are so many things but my first thought is I would miss sharing adventures with my kids to far off places and whimsical worlds.  I'm so glad my children can learn about the world while hearing my voice from the comforts of my lap.

What about you? What would you miss most if you could not read or write?