How Kids Become Lifelong Shoppers for and Readers of Books
Photo by David Veksler on Unsplash
By Mark W.F. Condon, Unite for Literacy vice president
If we wish to understand children, we must devote time to watching them. Through careful observation, we can see what they are “up to.” And when we respond to their youthful initiatives, we need to engage with them in what interests them, which communicates: “I care about you. You matter.”
When we watch children, we’ll notice their first impulse is to investigate everything. When they see something going on, they want to know more about it. Tiny children will try to taste everything, or wave things around to explore their weight and sound. As language develops, their questions begin: “What’s that?,” “What are you doing?,” “Why?” They may not fully understand our responses, but when adults are focused on something, children’s interest and motivation to carefully watch are sparked.
Consider grocery shopping. At first, little ones want to push the cart and put stuff in it, not caring what comes off the shelf. When they realize that what goes in the cart ends up at home, they stop paying attention to the cart and start thinking about what they want to bring home.
Learning to read is much like that.
First, kids see reading as something that older folks do. By reading to and with them, adults show children reading is a fun, shared activity. Once kids understand that, they want to “push the cart.” They want to turn the pages, and point and talk about the pictures. Then they engage in reading-like behavior—toddlers begin fluently telling stories to their baby sibling, a pet, or a stuffed toy as they leaf through a book’s pages, even though the words they speak and the text may not match well.
Once children experience that reading is fun, they lock onto books for solo enjoyment. This inclination must be maintained while they learn to navigate new and increasingly complex texts. With sufficient experience in lap reading, they’ll have an innate sense of how text conveys stories and presents information. They also will internalize the concept that book language is a variation of the language they hear at home and surely must always make (sometimes silly) sense.
Once children learn to ask questions like, “Why does that word say?” or to take charge with “No! Wait!” when they need more time to decipher a text’s meaning, they are on the independent reading launching pad. With each insight about reading that they acquire while listening, fully engaged kids are more and more ready to try a novice version of “reading” self-selected books on their own.
That in turn begins their transition from thinking about how to read, to considering what and when to read. If caring adults can ensure that kids maintain their personal autonomy in book selection, every day they are more ready to start reading. Their book experiences will transition from “saying” things that make sense, cued by the marks on pages, to a new forever-after focus away from simply identifying letters and words. Their attention will slowly become laser focused upon experiencing meanings found in rich stories and acquiring powerful information that is unveiled from the books they choose.
With each book they read, children’s insights grow and they become more aware of the ways in which authors’ styles communicate and connect them with a book’s content.
Over time, readers’ choices will lead them further into the world of books and continue to inspire them to choose titles that promise to be personally rewarding. Reading will become a daily, joyful habit that illuminates the wonders available in each book they choose.