August 22, 2007
Push reading beyond the bedtime story, expert says
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A Purdue University professor is advising parents to rethink the way they read to their children.Jennifer Dobbs, an assistant professor of developmental studies in Purdue's Department of Child Development and Family Studies, says that when it comes to reading, the technique may be just as important as the time spent together.
"When we think of reading, the traditional bedtime story where the child cuddles up next to the parent and then falls asleep as he is read to usually comes to mind," Dobbs said.
"That's a beautiful picture and it has its place, but from the learning perspective it is kind of like reading as a tranquilizer."
Dobbs recommends that parents practice dialogic reading, a more active form of reading that encourages input from the child. First studied during the 1980s by Grover "Russ" Whitehurst of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, dialogic reading has been shown to accelerate children's learning of pre-reading skills, better equipping them for success in school.
"Dialogic reading makes story time more of a conversation between parents and children," Dobbs said. "We know that when parents and teachers read this way, kids learn new information more quickly. They also retain the ideas better."
Dobbs suggests that adults engage their children by asking them different types of questions about the book, including those with concrete answers such as, "How many are there?" "What color is this?" and "What is this called?"
Open-ended questions, which allow children to focus on what is most interesting or important to them, also help kids learn vocabulary and become more confident.
"Open-ended questions allow children to decide what they want to talk about," she said. "Children learn better if they are interested in what they are learning about."
Other points to consider involve trying to link books with experiences in children's lives. Books about winter, for example, can inspire a child to talk about his favorite wintertime activities or favorite season.
Reading in this way offers benefits for the adult as well as the child by making the experience of reading a child's favorite book different each time, Dobbs said.
"There's nothing wrong with a bedtime story," Dobbs said. "Kids thrive on routines and rituals, but it would be too bad if the only experience a child had of being read to was when they're expected to drift off to sleep."
Writer: Tanya Brown, (765) 494-2079, tanyabrown@purdue.edu
Source: Jennifer Dobbs, (765) 494-2931, jdobbs@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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