Saturday, August 15, 2009

Early Literacy, Ch. 4: Print Motivation

And so we continue with another installment of Early Literacy. Print Motivation. I realized I've already talked some about Print Motivation, but in the interest of continuing with my little Early Literacy mini-lectures, I'll repeat myself. Kids who have the skill of print motivation like books. Yes, liking books is actually considered a skill. You may ask, "How do I encourage print motivation in my child?" Depending on your child, this may be the easiest skill to master, or it may be the most difficult. Try some of these things:
  • Find a time to read when you are BOTH in a good, relaxed mood. Do NOT try to force your child to read.
  • Help your child find books that interest him/her. It's even OK if s/he wants to read the same book over and over again. That's actually normal.
  • Find ways that will involve your child in the story. For examle, repetition is great; your child will love joining in and feeling extra smart because s/he knows what to say along with the story. Stories that involve the audience in some way are good, too. Think Mo Willems' Pigeon books.

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