Pointing to words helps children read in later years
Parents who point out words and letters to their children as they read aloud boost the youngsters' reading skills when they are older, according to a new study.
Showing capital letters and how you read from left to right and top to bottom of the page also improves the childrens' spelling and language comprehension skills.
"By showing them what a letter is and what a letter means, and what a word is and what a word means, we're helping them to crack the code of language and understand how to read," said Shayne Piasta, an assistant professor of teaching and learning who led the study.
Under-fives who were taught to read this way developed more advanced reading skills one and even two years down the line compared to kids who didn't.
Researchers claim this is the first time a study has shown a link between referencing during reading and literary achievement in later life.
An earlier study showed untrained teachers referenced 8.5 times per reading session compared to 36 times for those who were trained.
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... (Daily Telegraph - 17 April)