Dialogic Reading Method - Involve Your Preschooler in his Learning

A child’s experience with books is crucial when it comes to school readiness.  Reading provides a child with many necessary skills:

• Vocabulary
• Sound Structure
• Meaning of print
• Structure of stories and language
• Sustained attention
• Enjoyment of learning

How you read to your preschooler is just as important as reading often and from an early age.  Children learn from books when they are actively involved.  In The Dialogic Reading Method, the adult helps the child become the storyteller.  The fundamental technique involves choosing a book together, looking through it, the adult reading it and doing most of the talking, and pointing out names of things.

On the second reading, do the following:

Comment and wait - Comment on an object or ask a question of the child, and wait for their answer. Children need time to think and put their thoughts into language.

Ask questions and wait - Point to an object in the book and ask, "What's this?" or another appropriate question.  Avoid questions that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no".
   
Respond by adding a little more - Repeat what your child says and then expand with one or two more words.  For example, if the child says “elephant”, the adult adds, “elephant, grey elephant”.  This reinforces the child’s words and provides new information.

Dialogic reading is simply children and adults having a conversation about a book.  You probably already do this but have never thought about it before.  Preschoolers will enjoy dialogic reading more than traditional reading as long as you alternate your questions with straight reading.  Vary what you do from book to book, and follow the child's interests.  Keep it fun!

Dialogic Reading is a method developed by The Stony Brook Reading and Language Project