Talkers: 2-3 years old
Vocabulary
Research shows that children who have larger vocabularies are better readers. Knowing many words helps children recognize written words and understand what they read.
- Talk with your child about what is going on around you. Talk about feelings—yours and your child’s.
- When your child talks with you, add more detail to what she says.
- Speak in the language that is most comfortable for you.
- Read together every day. When you talk about the story and pictures, your child hears and learns more words.
Print Motivation
Children who enjoy books will want to learn how to read.
- Make sharing books a special time for closeness between you and your child.
- Let your child see you reading.
- Visit your public library often.
- Let your child or children see that reading is fun!
Print Awareness
Being familiar with printed language helps children feel comfortable with books and understand that print is useful.
- Read aloud everyday print—labels, signs, lists, menus. Print is everywhere!
- Point to some of the words in the book as you say them, especially words that are repeated.
- Let your child turn the pages of the book.
- Let your child hold the book and read or tell the story.
- Hold the book upside down. See if your child turns the book back around.
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” -Walt Disney
Narrative Skills
Being able to tell or retell a story helps children understand what they read
- Tell your child stories.
- Ask your child to tell you about something that happened today.
- Listen as your child tries to talk, be patient.
- Read books together. Stories help children understand that things happen in order first, next, last.
- Read a book that you have read before. Switch what you do—you be the listener and let your child tell you the story.
- Narrate your life.
- Let your child draw and tell you what is happening in the picture.
Letter Knowledge
Knowing the names and sounds of letters helps children figure out how to sound out words.
- Write your child’s name, especially the first letter.
- Play with magnetic letters.
- Point out and name letters on signs and labels.
- Point out how things are alike and different.
- Read alphabet books with clear letters and pictures.
- Show your child the shapes of letters.
Phonological Awareness
Being able to hear the sounds that make up words helps children sound out words as they begin to read.
- Say nursery rhymes and make up your own silly, nonsense rhymes
- Sing songs. Songs have different notes for each syllable in a word, so children can hear the different sounds in words.
- Play word games such as “What sounds like ‘ran’?” or “What starts with the same sound as ‘ball’?”
- Say rhymes and sing songs in the language that is most comfortable for you.
Dialogic or “Hear and Say”
Reading
How you read to children makes a difference in how ready they are to learn and read.
- Use dialogic reading to teach new words.
- Choose a book that your child already knows well.
- Ask “what” questions. (“What’s this?” and point to a picture.)
- Follow your child’s answers with another question. (“What is the dog doing?” Child: “Digging.”)
- Repeat what your child says and expand on it. (“I think you’re right. The dog is digging under the fence to go find his friend.”)
- Help your child as needed. Praise and encourage your child.
- Select books based on your child’s interests.
Use dialogic reading to develop
comprehension skills.
Dialogic reading encourages your toddler to think and talk by answering open-ended questions.
- Ask questions like: “What’s going on here?” “Tell me what you see on this page.”
- Follow your child’s answer with another question: “What else do you see?” “What is happening over here?”
- Expand on what your child says. Add another piece of information.
- Help your child repeat your longer phrases.
Have Fun!
“There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.”
-Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
