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Read Aloud 0-3

Read Aloud 0-3

Toddler and parent

Why read alouds?

The most important thing you can do to prepare your child to be a successful reader is to read aloud to your child every day.

Draw attention.

Draw your child's attention to the printed material.

  •  Point to objects in the pictures and run your finger under the words while you read them aloud.
  • Point out characteristics of letters and their sounds.
  • Point out words and talk about their meaning.
  • Point out the parts of the book, such as the title, cover, author, and illustrator.

Ask questions.

Help your child retell the text.

Before, during, and/or after reading, ask your child about the:

  • Topic
  • Characters
  • Ideas
  • Emotions
  • Setting or location

Use directionality.

Demonstrate reading left to right and top to bottom.

  • Move your finger under the words, left to right, to help your child understand how to move his or her eyes across the page to read.
  • Guide your child to run his or her fingers under the words as well.

For more information

The contents of this page were developed for the Michigan Department of Education under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education through the Office of Program and Grantee Support Services (PGSS) within the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), by the Region 8 Comprehensive Center at ICF under Award #S283B190013 in September 2021. This contains resources that are provided for the reader’s convenience. These materials may contain the views and recommendations of various subject matter experts as well as hypertext links, contact addresses, and websites to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any outside information included in these materials. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service, enterprise, curriculum, or program of instruction mentioned in this document is intended or should be inferred.