Concrete Experience: “what I did” section
My love of literature began before I even read my first sentence. My grandmother often read me children's books of small format and simple content. Most often they were poems by poets for children Samuil Marshak, Agniya Barto and others. My favorite writer was Vitaly Bianki, who wrote children's stories about animals, birds and the unique nature of his native land. My first Vitaly Bianki book looked like this
I never went to kindergarten, so I learned to read at home from my favorite books. Just at some point my grandmother refused to read me fairy tales and said that I knew all the letters and could do it myself. So I tried and I could.
The importance of books to a child is very great. Books serve to expand a child's understanding of the world, familiarizing them with things, nature, everything around them (The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, 2015). When books are systematically read aloud, over time the child begins to understand the structure of the work: where the beginning and end of the work is, how the plot develops. The child develops logical thinking. Thanks to reading, the child learns to correctly compose sentences, his vocabulary expands, imagination develops. In addition, the child forms the ability to listen, and this is a very important quality. My experience shows that those children who were read books in childhood, told fairy tales, becoming adults, read a lot. Reading helps a child to learn their native language better and develops imagination.
Reflective Observations: “what I wonder” section
Why read books to children?
Children have a great need for their parents to read aloud to them. Family reading is very important to a child's development, not only until the child can read, but also later in life. Children look forward to mom or dad having time for them.
For a child to grow up mentally healthy, he needs full communication with parents, personal communication, when the attention is given to him completely. And reading together provides such an opportunity.
The first reason to read books is to fulfill the child's need for security
When a child sits on mom or dad's lap (or next to a parent, snuggled up to him) while reading a book, he has a feeling of closeness, security and safety. A common space is created, a sense of belonging. Such moments have a strong influence on the formation of a comfortable sense of the world.
The second reason is the sense of value and importance of one's “I” .
When parents read what is interesting to the child and are ready to discuss with him the topics that are important to him, try to understand his views as best as possible, the child forms an idea of himself as a significant person, whose needs and interests are important (because they pay attention to such important people - parents).
The third reason is the formation of values
The book influences the moral ideals of the child, forming his/her values. Heroes of books perform different deeds, experience different life situations that are in harmony with the child's world or unknown to him (Reading Eggs, 2014). On the examples of situations in which the heroes of books get into, the child learns to understand what is good and evil, friendship and betrayal, sympathy, duty, honor. And the task of parents is to help them see the reflection of these values in the child's life.
Abstract Conceptualization: “what I learned” so what”
Recommendations for literature acquisition (Trim, 2005):
3- 5 year-olds enjoy picture books, building on a foundation of picture stories, rhymes, and songs begun with 'First Books for Babies'.It is always easier for a young child to comprehend storytelling than reading. So tell him stories in your own words and look at picture books at the same time. In the third year of life, the vocabulary increases rapidly, and the child can already read poems.
5- 7 year-olds develop interest and pleasure in reading as they learn to read with confidence and independence. Teachers will employ different teaching strategies, including re-emphasis on phonological and phonemic awareness, but these will largely focus on words and sentences. Children will be encouraged to work out the meaning of straightforward texts and talk about the content. Children of 4-5 years of age are activating their vocabulary and developing coherent speech. When reading literary works to a child, it is necessary to pay attention to individual words and expressions. You can teach to retell short texts of folk tales. Slowly start memorizing poems.
7-11 year-olds leads the child progressively on to enjoy reading and using books of many genres, themes, and writing styles; of texts that increase in length from which the child can reflect meaning, analyze, and discuss. Children of this age should buy brightly colored books with large print and lots of beautiful pictures, the storyline of the book should be interesting so that the child will want to read to the end (Reading Eggs, 2017). A book at this age should be enjoyable. When choosing a book, pay attention to the amount of dialog in the works, because you will be able to read in roles.
Application “now what” section
In addition to choosing the right book, you need to follow certain rules about books and reading
- Talk more often about the value of books;
- Encourage a respectful attitude towards books by showing your family's book heirlooms;
- You are the main example for your child, and if you want your child to read, then you should also spend some time with a book;
- Visit the library and bookstores together;
- Buy books brightly colored in design and interesting in content;
- Rejoice in your child's successes, and do not focus on mistakes;
- Discuss the book you have read among the students;
- Talk about the author of the book you are reading;
- Organize more frequent classroom readings.
- Reading for children should become a daily habit, a necessity.
(Selecting Books for Children, n.d.)
References:
Reading Eggs. (2014, October 14). 8 Tips for Choosing Books for Kids. Readingeggs.com; Reading Eggs. https://readingeggs.com/articles/how-to-choose-books-for-kids/
Reading Eggs. (2017, April 6). Just Right Books with the Five Finger Rule. Readingeggs.com; Reading Eggs. https://readingeggs.com/articles/just-right-books/
The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance. (2015). Why Do Kids Need Books? - The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. https://thencbla.org/advocacy/why-do-kids-need-books/
Selecting Books for Children. (n.d.). Child & Family Development. https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/selecting-books-for-children
Trim, M. (2004). Growing and knowing: a selection guide for children's literature.
