Content derived from speech-language pathologists Barbara Bryant, CCC-SLP and Natalie Carroll, CCC-SLP in Children’s Therapy
Reading books with children is important because it increases language development. Reading with younger children may look a bit different than reading with older children, but keep in mind that using a variety of fun voices and facial expressions helps keep children engaged in reading and they will be more excited to continue reading in the future.
In this video, Children’s Therapy speech-language pathologists explain dialogic reading, strategies for reading with children of different ages, several reading prompt ideas to try with your child, and they model how to modify the reading activity based on the child’s language level—this often includes more than just reading the words already printed on the page. They recommend making connections between experiences in the book with real experiences in the child’s life.
Dialogic reading: having a conversation about the book with your child.
- The child helps tell the story.
- The adult listens, questions and supports the child.
- The child is actively included in the story.
- Pictures are described, vocabulary is defined and expanded.
- This method of reading creates a fun conversation between adult and child.
See dialogic reading flyer in English, Somali, Spanish, Vietnamese.
Learn more about speech therapy services for children at Valley’s Children’s Therapy Clinic.
