When reading together with your child take a moment to notice the following on the cover before you begin;
1. Read the title of the book. You might like to point out the words which make up the title with your finger.
2. Read and point out the name of the author.
3. And the illustrator.
4. Point out any letters which are significant to your child, for example, the first initial of their name.
5. Before reading a book for the first time, look at the cover illustration and talk about any clues you can see which might help you both to understand what the book is about.
6. Look at the spine of the book – point out the title and talk about why a book has a spine, SquiggleMum has a great post about book spines here.
7. Use the correct vocabulary – cover, title, author, words, illustrator, illustrations, spine.
Whilst you might not do all of these things every time, taking time to explore the features of the book cover helps your child to;
- Build prior knowledge of what the book is about,
- Make predictions, and
- Set the purpose for reading,
all of which are important, especially when it comes to comprehending what you (and later they) are reading.
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Christie Burnett is an early childhood teacher, presenter, writer and the editor of Childhood 101. More importantly, she is a Mum who believes wholeheartedly in the value of children learning through play, the importance of quality early education, and the togetherness of family.
And, thanks, too, for your great comment on THH. Take a break today, go rake a pile of leaves up and enjoy jumping in! :)