Once your child is at an age where he/she is reading fluently and comprehending, there is still work to be done. But this stage is richly rewarding because your child can start to really engage with a text. The words and sentences on the page begin to take on deeper meaning and that is when the magic of reading is truly born. Here are some ways to foster this important work.

PREDICTING

One of the easiest ways to get your child to engage further with text is through making predictions. Explain to your child that a prediction is making an informed guess on what will happen next in the story. Practice making predictions for a few nights while reading aloud to your child. Find a natural stopping point in the book and make a prediction. When doing so, be sure to explain the clues that led to your prediction. For example, “I think Charlie is going to find the last golden ticket because the book is called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory so Charlie must get to go into the factory.” Once your child hears you model it a few times, ask him to give it a try. In the beginning he may need help providing contextual evidence for his predictions. Be sure to reassure your child that predictions won’t always come true, but that it’s still fun to make them.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

Another great way to engage with text is to make connections. These connections can be text-self, text-another text, or text-world. In a text-self connection, your child notices something in the book that reminds her of something in real life. For example, if the main character in the book has an annoying little brother and so does she, then that’s a wonderful connection to make. In a text-another text connection, your child notices something in the book that reminds her of something they read in another book. For example, a reader might note that Harry Potter is an orphan and so is the main character in The Secret Garden. (You could also open this up to be a text-movie or TV show connection.) A text-world connection is one in which the reader notes similarities between the book and something that happened or is happening in the real world. For example, a reader could draw parallels between a character’s voyage to the North Pole with what she knows about real-life journeys to the North Pole. Just as you did when first introducing your child to predicting, be sure to model these connections first for your child.

VISUALIZING

While reading, your child should be making pictures in his head of what’s going on in the book. Explain to your child that when he’s reading, it’s almost as if he has a movie playing in his head. Encouraging your child to visualize will deepen his reading experience and help him to get “lost” in a book. When reading aloud, stop once in a while and ask your child to close his eyes and picture the moment in his head. Ask him to describe what he sees. You might even give him paper and crayons or markers to draw everything that he’s visualizing.

Enjoy this time with your child as he begins to become an active, engaged, and excited reader.