Tips for Reading to and with Children in Grades 4-6

• Take turns reading a book with your child.
  
• Ask your child to compare a book to another familiar book. How are the characters alike or different? Do the stories take place in similar settings? How are the illustrations the same or different?
  
• Ask what part of the story or book your child liked best and why.
  
• Ask if your child liked the ending of the story. Why or why not?
  
• Ask your child what type of mood the story or chapter in a book creates. Ask how the author creates the mood. For example, does she use certain words, events or settings that create a particular feeling?
  
• If your child has read more than one book by the same author, ask how the books are similar or different.
  
• Provide your child with a reliable home dictionary and encyclopedia. Encourage children to look up subjects that puzzle or interest them. In school, reading lessons include library research.
  
• If your child is not enthusiastic about reading, choose books on subjects sure to interest her or him: books on sports, books of riddles or magic tricks, books on hobbies. Be sure they are not too difficult for your child to read.
  
• If she's a television rather than a reading fan, see which programs she prefers and provide suitable books on the same subjects. If Westerns are her favorites, for example, she'll probably enjoy some of the fine children's books now available about the early West.
  
• If a young person is an avid comic book reader (ages 9, 10 and 11 are likely to be), don't make a big issue out of it. Make sure your child is also provided with other more worthwhile books that offer lively adventure in an easy-to-read format. Most children outgrow the comic book phase, if other literature is available in their homes.
  
• Set a good example as a reader—read every day at home even if it is a magazine or newspaper.
  
• Make reading fun, a time that you both look forward to spending together.