I am enrolled in a reading- theory course at Stonehill College, where we are studying the benefits of reading aloud to children by analyzing "The Read Aloud Handbook" by Jim Trelease. It's important to explain why reading aloud is so important for parents and children and exactly how to read aloud to children.

Parents have an obligation to set aside time each day for reading aloud for their children to reap benefits such as achieving better scores on standardized tests, better grades and becoming lifelong readers. Reading aloud is best accomplished when following a series of steps laid out by Trelease:

Step 1: Get comfortable. Make sure both the reader and listener(s) are sitting down comfortably in places where the speaker can be heard and the listener can see pictures, if applicable. Children will not concentrate if they are not comfortable.

Step 2: Talk first. Before even opening the book, talk about the cover and what the children think the book will be about. If the book has illustrations, flip through the pages and discuss what happens in the pictures. Creating their own story draws the children into the book and its contents.

Step 3: Turning pages is the children's job. Especially with young children, getting them involved by allowing them to turn the pages gets them interested and invested in the book. This task also teaches them how reading is formatted -- going from left to right and top to bottom -- by involving the children in noticing the text and its progress throughout the story.


Step 4: Build up reading tolerance. At first, children are not going to be able to sit and listen for long periods of time. Slowly build up their tolerance to listening by initially reading for only a few minutes. Expand the time spent reading when the children react negatively to stopping (groans, etc.).

Step 5: Stop at suspenseful parts in the story. This keeps the children invested in the book and excited about it, but do not go for days without reading or the children will lose interest. Continuing a book -- unless it is a genuinely bad book -- is the reader's job once a book has been started.

Step 6: Discuss the book after reading aloud. Make sure the children understand what is happening and enjoy the book. Books can bring up emotions and thoughts the child would otherwise not have, and discussion about these is vital. Being able to address these emotions and thoughts through a book is helpful for parents as their children mature because the book will give them a starting point for these conversations.

Parents who follow all of these steps will help their children become lifelong readers. Children will develop a love for reading and follow their parents' example if they see parents reading their own books as well as reading aloud to them.

This reinforcement of reading throughout all members of the household will foster an encouraging environment in which children's love of reading will flourish. Children who are read to regularly will statistically score better on standardized tests. Ample reading improves vocabulary and children's reading skills so they do better academically.

Reading aloud is a bonding experience for parents and their children and can be very enjoyable if the parents follow these six steps. By simply following Trelease's steps to effective reading aloud (and reading his book) a parent can drastically enhance their children's potential in school and beyond.

Jessica Davi of Leominster is a sophomore at Stonehill College.