What is the practice?
Toddlers learn about “reading” a book while listening to, looking at, and talking about the story in a book. This practice will help expand your toddler’s listening and speaking skills by asking questions that encourage him to engage in a conversation with you about the story.
What does the practice look like?
Snuggling in your favorite chair with your toddler’s favorite book creates an opportunity to “read” together. As you are reading the story, stop frequently and ask your toddler wh- questions about the pictures or story to encourage him to talk about what he sees and understands. Ask wh- questions like “What do you see in the picture?” or “Where did the boy go?” that will encourage him to talk about the story. Be patient while he tells you about what he thinks is happening.
How do you do the practice?
- Start by asking your toddler which book he wants to read.
- Ask your toddler to tell you what the story is about if it is an old favorite. If it is a new book, look at the pictures with him and then ask what he thinks the book is about.
- Is your toddler able to describe more about the stories or pictures?
- Does your toddler enjoy reading books with you?
- Does your toddler want to tell you about the stories?
- As you “read” the book, let your child hold the book and turn the pages. Don’t worry if pages get skipped: when reading with a toddler, saying every word is not necessary. Just tell him the story as you go along. Encourage your child to talk with you about the story. Asking questions like, “What do you think will happen next?” or “Why is the little girl crying?” will encourage your toddler to give you more than one-word answers. Asking Who and What questions encourages children to talk more than does asking questions that can be answered simply with a “Yes” or “No,” like “Is the dog brown?”
- Show your interest in what your toddler says by following his answer with another question. For example, “You think she is crying because she is scared? Why do you think she is scared?”
- Smiling and commenting on his attempts to answer your questions shows your interest and keeps him involved in reading.
How do you know the practice worked?
Take a look at more reading with toddlers
Story Time Questions
Jenna’s mom has been reading with her 2½-year-old daughter as part of their bedtime routine. They snuggle down on Jenna’s bed with her favorite books. Taking the book Jenna picks frst, her mom asks Jenna what the book is about. Jenna says, “Bunny bedtime.” Mom elaborates on what Jenna says with, “The bunny is saying ‘good night’ to everything in his room,” and follows up by asking, “What is in the bunny’s room?” As they continue to read the book, Mom continues to ask Jenna questions about the pictures and story. She knows Jenna enjoys answering her questions because she smiles at her each time.
Selecting Books at the Library
Every few weeks, 2-year-old Mollie and her mom go to the library to pick out new books to read. While they are picking out books, they play a guessing game, taking turns and asking questions about the book just by looking at the pictures. Mollie’s mom starts the game by asking Mollie what she thinks the names of the charac- ters are, or what she thinks is happening in a cer- tain picture. Mom can tell Mollie likes a book by the way she keeps wanting to look at it.
Touch-and-Feel Books
Rhianna, a toddler with a visual impairment, loves sharing books with her mom in the afternoon before her big brother comes home from school. To help Rhianna, her mom uses books with lots of textures, or books with sounds and big, bright, simple photographs. One of Rhianna’s favorites is Pat the Bunny, and each time they read it together Rhianna’s mom asks her questions like “How does the bunny feel?” while encouraging Rhianna to touch the bunny illustration with its patch of soft fur. They expand their conversation about the book, and Rhianna’s mom asks what sounds the animals would make. They talk about which pages are favorites, and why they like them.
