Helping Pre-Readers Research
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 08:25AM 
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 (10)
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*
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".
Tonight I used the post-it tab idea for him to mark photos within a caterpillar book to find one similar to the newest mystery caterpillar. We discussed looking those names up online so that we can find out what kind of adult this caterpillar would grow to be. And what kind of food he will need.
Being a working 9-5 away from home sort of mom, I catch myself feeling and expressing how little time I have with them... So often I feel rushed and find myself stealing the discovery away from my son... because I'm also starving a bit for new and exciting discoveries. This isn't great to either of us. There is a balance to strike in there some where...
Discovering his interests and discoveries are growing more interesting for me. Still, how does a mom stay present and engaged in the activity without over interfering?? That's been my most recent question. Pre-readers that my boys are, I want to do it all and find all the 'correct answers'. I keep on stopping myself from taking over, to want less to design their entire 'lesson." I know all to well that there is no such answer of "what they are supposed to get" out of any given activity. But still I keep finding myself wanting to control... why?
to feed my ego??
I have been a big fan of your blog for quite some time.
Thank you for being a great resource!
akari
it can take so long to learn this way .. "slow learning", as i call it. when you said you had a blast researching and designing and printing the little booklet .. that is really work that you want him to do, right? and to feel that excitement and pleasure of doing the research and creating something that shows what he learned.
and when you point out that you are also a bit starved for new and exciting discoveries .. you express this beautifully.
hopefully what happens with project work is that your new and exciting discoveries become rooted in learning how your son learns - discovering what awakens his excitement and engagement - figuring out how you can best support him while he has his own ideas and builds his own knowledge.
"[H]ow does a mom stay present and engaged in the activity without over interfering?"
Remember that he will figure out very quickly how this works. If he knows that if he waits or lags, you'll immediately take over, then he'll wait and lag. If he knows it's really *your* thing, then he will let it stay your thing.
Try to put your energies into creating space, time, materials, etc., for him to do this work. Clear it out, then start to slowly fill it up. Accrue books and posters. Hang up his drawings and paintings. Do a lot of *different* things, all centered around the same idea. Draw the moth, paint it, get out 3-D materials and build a model (wire, tissue paper, as many different things offered as you can), photograph it, xerox pictures from field guides, etc. etc. etc.
Listen very carefully and try to help him isolate and focus on his questions and the things he wonders about.
Try to let go of "correct answers" and focus instead on helping them begin to learn the ropes of what it is to be a self-directed learner. Every time they express an idea or ask a question, that's a win. Every time they make a plan and then execute it, that's a win. When something doesn't go as planned, that's a rich vein of discussion, exploration, and learning.
Whatever they learn about moths is gravy. ;) The main point is what they learn about learning itself - exploring interests, investigating, doing research, expressing ideas, putting ideas into words, putting ideas into three-dimensional materials, etc. etc. etc.
That need to control is absolutely natural .. you have a well-developed human need to shape the story and have it make sense. Just keep reminding yourself that you are there to assist these fledgling thinkers and learners as they shape their own story.
And pour your own ideas, questions, plans, etc., into your journal. Document *everything* they do and then carefully examine your own research. Plow all your excess energy into shaping *that* story - the story of you being their learning mentor, the story of them becoming self-directed learners.
thank you so much for your kind words and excellent comments - i hope you keep adding to the discussion! and let me know how things are going!