Summertime family reading

"Summertime, and the livin' is easy" are lyrics from the famous play Porgy and Bess and I hope that this is the feeling you have around your house right now.  Although you are all probably busy still doing "regular" daily things, you at least don't have lots of "homework" added to the schedule.  This is a perfect time to read together as a family and there are several "techniques" that parents can use when reading with their child to improve reading fluency.

Fluency is developed by listening to good readers and by practicing fluent reading.  You and your child can "chorus" read passages together (reading the same thing at the same time) or "echo" read where one person reads a sentence or phrase first and the another person reads it immediately after, like an echo.  As you read together, stop and point out connections to real-life experiences, movies or tv shows, or other previously read books.  Making connections is a good way to build your child's understanding of, and, interest in, a story.  Also, make sure to stop and discuss unfamiliar words and practice sounding them out together.  It is fun to "share" things that you have read with an "audience" (like other family members) as your child improves their reading ability and confidence.

Here is a nice source for ordering books online for specific age groups:

Amazon book lists