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« Fostering Independence | Main | Project Journal — Parent’s »
Wednesday
15Oct2008

Helping Pre-Readers Research

Some ideas for helping children who are not yet reading independently:

• Let them choose books at the library — and don’t restrict them to only picture books or books with very little text! They can choose books that they want you to read to them.

• Give them a pad of small post-its and let them flag pages that you (or an older sibling) will read to them later.

• Collect ephemera: posters, charts, postcards, brochures, etc. The more images to compare and contrast, the better!

• Look for videos at the library or on youtube; remember that you can show only a part of a film or video to a small child — you don’t have to watch the whole thing. Remember also that they will probably want to watch it over and over and over again.

• Have them do observational sketches and tell you about their sketches as soon as they are finished drawing them and then again the next day. Pre-readers can “read” their own sketches.

• Label the parts of their sketches, e.g., the parts of a fire engine: ladder, tires, bell.

• Make illustrated lists of common words — digital photographs and xerox copies of book illustrations are great for the pictures; print the words large and clear with a black marker. Laminate these sheets if possible; children will use them for a long time. They can refer back to these when they want to print a word on a drawing, letter, sketch, construction, sign, poster, or book. (Make illustrations only about 1 inch square and put a group of related words together on a page, e.g., “Mommy”, “Daddy”, “Grandma”, and sibling names on one page; a project-related page might say things like “engine”, “hat”, “ladder”, “fireman”, “dog”, etc.)

• Have them dictate stories, notes, letters, e-mails, etc.  Make sure they understand that you will write anything for them that they need.

Pre-readers and pre-writers can research independently if they know they have a dependable resource for helping them find and decode the resources they need. You don’t have to be at your child’s beck and call 24/7, but you do need to be a trusted resource. It’s fine to say “Mark all the pages you want me to read and I will read them to you after lunch.” But be aware that if you don’t follow through for them a few times in a row, they will give up and stop trying.

This is just one way you can support your child’s investigations — not just helping them locate and decode the resources they need, but showing them that you are their trustworthy partner in learning.



Reader Comments (8)

"Give them a pad of small post-its and let them flag pages that you (or an older sibling) will read to them later."

Perfect! Both my boys are interested in subjects and details, but the text is beyond their own reading ability. Thanks for this idea! This is a part of what has been missing in our project afternoons. Seems silly, I know, but I had not thought about reading *the pages they wanted* Our school day continues to benefit so much from your suggestions!

*grin*
October 15, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterMegan
glad to help, megan - let me know how it works for you.
October 15, 2008 | Registered CommenterLori
This is so very full of wonderful ideas. Thank you, Lori.

And um... yesterday's post too. We keep a journal that is mainly a record of things done, but I really like the idea of documenting their questions/needs/ideas too.

I think I'm going to have to carry post its in my pocket though because they never fail to ask the best questions when my hands are covered in flour, or I'm driving or we're out on a walk. 9 times out of 10 we forget what it was we were going to research "later on".
October 15, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterStefani
i’m glad you are getting some good ideas stef. ;^) it’s exactly that “9 times out of 10 we forget” that makes the project journal pure gold!
October 15, 2008 | Registered CommenterLori
I also like the idea of having children flag pages to look at more in depth -- perhaps their post-its can be places to make small sketches about what interested them. And we as adults can model that careful looking and flagging, too!
October 15, 2008 | Unregistered Commenterallie
allie, we used this technique very successfully with our preschool students — let me know if you try it!
October 15, 2008 | Registered CommenterLori
I have only just stumbled on your site but I am definately coming back. What wonderful words and ideas you have to share.
October 15, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterJuliann
hi juliann & thank you!
October 16, 2008 | Registered CommenterLori

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