Do you ever wonder how you can help your child develop a passion for reading?

Studies show that parents not only can but should take an active interest in a child's developing reading skills. Rudolfo Anaya's love of language did not develop only in the classroom. It developed as he listened to members of his family tell stories and poems. It developed after he got his first library card, when he could take interesting books home and spend quiet time reading them. In the same way, your child's ongoing development as a reader will depend on a variety of experiences.

As you know, a child's learning begins long before his or her first day of formal education. You are your child's first and most important teacher and role model. However, when a child outgrows bedtime stories and story hour at the library, it becomes more difficult to shape his or her reading experiences. It is essential, however, that you continue your efforts. You can do this by adapting principles you used when your child was just beginning to read and by introducing new ideas and experiences to fit your child's changing skill and maturity level. If you commit to doing this, you can and will play a key role in helping your child become an eager reader whose life is forever enriched by books.

The following suggestions can help you to foster literacy in your child, whether you are homeschooling or supplementing a public or private school education. Together they form a plan of action that encourages reading activities and presents reading in a positive light.

Be a role model.
Children whose parents value reading and who read at home have a better chance of succeeding in school and becoming life-long readers. Be sure your children see you reading both for pleasure and to get information. Keep good books, magazines, and newspapers in the house. Follow news events and read the paper. You might want to read articles from the newspaper together at the breakfast table or while relaxing in the evening. Discuss what your children are reading. Encourage them to talk about issues, characters, and themes in their reading. Try to connect these ideas to your lives. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement says, "Talk and listen to your children. Language is like a four-legged stool: speaking, listening, reading, and writing are its parts, and each supports the other." You might want to review the U.S. Department of Education's online brochure "Helping Your Child Learn to Read.". This brochure contains tips on reading instruction at home that can be adapted for older children. It also features a special section on building enthusiasm for reading in older children.

Incorporate reading into other activities.
Encourage activities that require reading, such as cooking, constructing something (kite, model, art project), or identifying animals or trees after a hike or nature walk. If a child has a particular hobby, such as horseback riding, hiking, or music, introduce him or her to a variety of books related to it. For example, encourage a young basketball player to read a fiction book about basketball, a biography of a professional basketball player, and a book that talks about the history of basketball. These efforts show children that reading is not just a school activity, but an activity that can help them in different areas of their lives.

Provide varied reading material.
Some reading should be for enjoyment; some should be to gather information. Introduce children to a variety of genres, including nonfiction, fiction, science fiction, poetry, etc., so that they can discover what genre they enjoy most. Ask them what types of writing they find most enjoyable and what types they find most challenging. Try to direct your child toward interesting, high-quality literature. Books that make children laugh, give them a sense of wonder, or keep them on the edge of their seats motivate them to keep reading. You can look online for lists of award-winning books. Visit The Children's Literature Web Guide..

Establish routines.
Make reading a regular part of your child's life. Encourage him or her to spend time reading every day, even if only ten or fifteen minutes each day. For example, have your child quietly read something he or she enjoys each night just before going to bed. Or, have your child read something to you. As a family, set aside at least one evening each week for reading instead of watching television. Make reading a part of school vacations. For example, at the start of summer vacation, parents can help children to set reading goals according to their individual skill levels. For example, one child might comfortably be able to read two chapter books over a summer, while another child might be able to read many more. Always remember that children are entitled to enjoy their summer reading—allow them freedom in choosing what they read and don't push them so hard that the reading is seen as an unpleasant chore.

Communicate in writing.
Research proves that reading and writing are skills that influence and support each other. Often good readers are good writers, and good writers are good readers. With this in mind, encourage your child to exchange letters or email with friends and relatives. Suggest that your child create a family newsletter or design a web page (Link to Create Your Own Web Page on Small Planet site). These are fun ways for children to hone their reading and writing skills. Also, children should be encouraged to communicate their thoughts and opinions on books, poems, or articles in writing. They can do this by writing informally in a journal or reading log. A child's journal or reading log can also be a place where they write private thoughts about their lives. Journal writing will boost your child's language skills and encourage him or her to look at the world through the eyes of a writer.

Visit the library.
Feeling comfortable in a library is an important part of being a literate person. Encourage children to get library cards and to make regular trips to the library. For upper-elementary and middle school children, the library is no longer just a source of entertainment; it is a place to find information. They can now be expected to use school and public libraries for reports and other research projects. There are many ways you can help your child build strong library skills. Here are some tips that will help you and your child through library/research assignments:

• Talk about the wealth of search tools available to them at the library. Mention library catalog systems, periodical guides, reference books, and online resources. Be sure your child knows how to use a table of contents and an index.

• Ask questions about the assignment. This will help the child to clarify what he or she needs to do. Help the child to classify the topic that he or she will be researching. What are its subtopics? Is the topic part of a larger subject? If children have a thorough understanding of their topics, they are better able to select reference materials.

• Help the child to break the assignment into sections,. Then set deadlines for each section. Managing time in this way will allow the child plenty of time to explore the library.

• Give children encouragement and advice but do not take over their assignments. Children should assume the responsibility for their own research‹this is the only way they will learn to rely on their own library skills. They also need to learn to feel comfortable approaching librarians and articulating in their own words what they need. Use the following ideas to further expand your child's knowledge of the library:

• Ask an older child to research and bring home library books for a younger sibling. Or, ask your child to locate books on a particular subject for you. For example, you might ask him or her to locate a recipe, books by a particular author, or information on a hobby you are pursuing.

• Look into programs your library might offer for children on using online resources, the internet, or various software programs.

• Find out if your local library has a summer reading program. A structured library program often offers children incentives to keep reading throughout the summer. This kind of program is especially helpful to a child who struggles with reading and whose skills might become rusty over the long summer break.

Consider Book Club.
Are your efforts to foster literacy at home being supported at your child's school? If you are homeschooling, are you completely satisfied that your children are becoming eager, skilled readers? Whatever your answers to these important questions might be, the Book Club program is worth looking into. This program, developed over the last eleven years by a group of teachers and researchers, "has proven again and again that it does not only improve language arts skills, but also helps students gain increased motivation and the desire to become better readers." The Book Club program works so well because it incorporates the principles for encouraging literacy that are outlined above. It does this by:

• encouraging communication and discussion
• combining reading, discussion, and writing using well-written books that are interesting to children
  
• getting children to connect themes and information in books to their own lives
  
• allowing children to take responsibility for their study of literature

Traditional reading/literature instruction focuses heavily on searching for the "right answer." Students are encouraged to read for facts and sometimes trivial details that they are asked to recall for quizzes and short-answer worksheet questions—which they usually struggle to complete independently. This type of reading instruction is not likely to develop a child's love of reading. The teachers and parents who use Book Club understand that literacy is a process. Good readers find meaning in a text by bringing their own ideas to it, discussing it, and connecting it to the world and their own lives.