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Show Schoolrv and Home 7 Dr. Daryl J. McCarty Executive Secretary Utah Education Association What's the single most 1m -portant thing parents can do for their young child? Read aloud to that child, says Dr. Camille Bla-chowlcz, Bla-chowlcz, a faculty member of the National College of Education, in an article in the Scott -Foresman newsletter, news-letter, Primary Activities. That viewpoint lsnt new. E ducators have long said that reading aloud to children helps them learn how to read. But Dr. Blachowicz goes a bit further. She explains ex-plains how to read aloud to youngsters. First, she points out the fact that at first, children can be bewildered b y the reading process. They may not have any Idea that the printed word is related in any way to speech. Dr. Blachowicz Invites the parent, while reading aloud, to run a finger under the printed words, so the children chil-dren can see that the read-, read-, er's voice ,? flows with the -lines of type. That way, youngsters realize that the type is telling the reader what to say. It also shows the kids you're reading from left to right, something they might not otherwise understand. They might think the words go from right to left, or begin in the middle. Some don't understand what a word is or does. Some children have trouble learning the difference between be-tween a word and a letter. Dr. Blachowicz suggests taking your child with you to the supermarket. While there, point out signs that say such things as "enter," "meats," "candy," and "checkout," etc. When you ask the child why the signs are there and how they help the customers, you'll be teaching a valuable lesson in how words affect our daily lives. There's another big reason rea-son why reading aloud to your young child is vital. Your child has a great respect for you, and copies your behavior. If the little one sees and hears you reading, it becomes Important to that child to become able to do the same thelng. ' Whenever motivation exists, ex-ists, teaching Is earier. |