Introducing preschoolers to reading
Author: Shestakova Tatyana Petrovna
Introducing preschoolers to reading
Currently, the book is losing an unequal battle with technical means: television and computer. Modern children are increasingly spending their free time playing computer games, watching TV shows, especially cartoons, and reading books less and less. And this is understandable, reading is a kind of work in which the child thinks, imagines, and gets used to the image. As for technical means, you don’t have to put in any effort, you don’t have to think, imagine, just sit and watch.
According to Maxim Gorky, “the book is perhaps the most complex and great miracle of all the miracles created by humanity on its way to the happiness and power of the future.”
A book is a great teacher and friend; without it, the harmonious development of a person is unthinkable, because it develops not only memory and intellect, but also imagination, and contributes to the moral and spiritual development of the individual. “Tell me what you are reading, and I will tell you who you are” - this is how you can paraphrase a wise saying.
Reading child:
- knows how to communicate, shows good results when training;
- has a rich vocabulary;
- knows how to listen and hear, understands and assimilates any information;
- he has a well-developed auditory memory and imagination;
- reads willingly, for his own pleasure.
Who should and can introduce a child to reading? At the first stage of this process are parents and preschool workers. Because it is in preschool childhood that a child is, first of all, a listener. But the library and school are the next stage in the formation of a child—a reader. It is very important to cultivate a love and interest in books in a child. S.Ya. Marshak considered the main task of adults to discover “the talent of a reader” in a child.
One of the main tasks of today is to introduce children from preschool age to reading fiction, to educate the child as an active reader, which begins in preschool childhood. It runs like a red thread through all sections of the programs of preschool educational institutions, which are developed in accordance with federal state standards.
Preschool age is a time of active development of a child as a listener, requiring attention and painstaking teamwork of preschool teachers and parents. In such an important process as introducing a child to reading books, parents are the main guides between the child and the printed word. The task of educators is to convince those who are missing out on this opportunity of the benefits of reading to children, and to make shared reading a family tradition.
Children love to be read to. It is from the parents that the child hears the first poems and fairy tales, and if parents do not ignore reading even to the little ones, then with a very high probability the book will soon become the child’s best friend. Because when reading books to children, adults:
— expand the child’s understanding of the world;
- introduce everyone to everything that surrounds the child: nature, objects, etc.;
- influence the formation of the child’s preferences and reading tastes;
- develop thinking - both logical and figurative;
- expand vocabulary, memory, imagination and fantasy;
- learn how to write sentences correctly.
Children to whom their parents read aloud regularly begin to understand the structure of a literary work (where the beginning is, how the plot unfolds, where the end comes). Thanks to reading, a child learns to hear, learns his native language better - understands.
Those children who were constantly read aloud and told fairy tales as children become lifelong readers. Books are loved by those children whose parents love to read. Reading aloud is also of great importance for those children who can already read a book themselves. Family reading is a guarantee of well-being, a way of communication between parents and children, a method of education and good leisure time. This is why, moms and dads, you should always have time to read to your children! Family reading is an indicator of a good, prosperous family. Russian teacher K.D. Ushinsky spoke about the benefits of reading aloud: “... it is necessary to teach children not only to read, but also to listen carefully, and then assimilate and pass on what they hear.” Children who were not read much in early childhood do not know how to listen with concentration, so they have difficulty in school.
Psychologists believe that if parents read books to their children, then they are emotionally balanced and self-confident. In moments of reading together, children feel closeness, protection, and safety. Such children have a much more comfortable life than those who are deprived of the joy of reading. While reading together, they develop a moral attitude towards the world. The heroes of the books perform various actions, find themselves in difficult situations, make decisions - the child can discuss all this with his parents, as a result of which he develops ideas about good and evil, friendship and betrayal, sympathy, duty and honor. With active listening, the child vividly imagines what is being narrated and experiences it. At these moments, he develops emotionally and, often identifying himself with the main character, overcomes his own fears. Listening to a literary work, a child inherits various behavioral patterns through the book. For example, how to become a good friend, how to achieve a goal, or how to resolve a conflict. The role of parents here is to help compare situations from a fairy tale with moments that can happen in real life.
The ability to correctly perceive a literary work, to recognize elements of expressiveness along with the content, does not come to a child by itself: it must be developed and educated from a very early age.
Starting from birth, it is imperative to sing lullabies to children and use folk melodies, nursery rhymes, and jokes in communication. One-year-old babies are very attracted to books - pictures and books - toys.
In the first three years, psychologists say, a growing person has to remember and assimilate such a volume of new information that he will not acquire in all subsequent years. The baby’s thinking is very concrete; attention is attracted by bright, clearly defined images. The baby remembers what attracted his attention well and likes to repeat it. To the above literary genres for 2-3 years old, it is necessary to add fairy tales, rhythmic poems with two to four rhyming lines, which the child will easily remember and receive a lot of positive emotions.
The task of adults is to turn any reading into an exciting game that will involuntarily make the child love books. The first sign of passion is the child’s desire and need to re-read an already familiar fairy tale many times. S. Marshak very accurately expressed the meaning of a fairy tale in the life of a little person: “A fairy tale is a concentrate of different things - like milk for little ones. It contains all the batteries. She teaches you to speak, think, feel.”
Between the ages of four and five, children are very inquisitive. For little “whys,” reading choices become more meaningful. Not only the illustrations and their colorfulness acquire significance, but also the name of the fairy tale or story. While reading, the child can already comment on what he read and express his opinion. During this same period, most children make their first attempts to learn to read on their own. It is important at this age not to overdo it and not to discourage the child from developing an interest in reading. By the end of the fourth year of life, you can read short educational works - poetic and prose, which can satisfy the baby’s numerous questions.
Today, for many children, the age of 6–7 years is already school age. By this age, the child can already focus on the subject of his interest. He is able to control his emotions. A six-year-old child develops his conscience, develops moral assessments and his own judgments about the actions of other people and his own.
An important period begins - active learning to read independently. At the same time, the child still has a desire to listen to his mother read. Therefore, do not rush to leave your children alone with a book. Reading together with your child will help strengthen your love and bring new impressions and joy into your life. If it is difficult for a child to read on his own, then at first help him - read the text out loud, then he will read it himself. Celebrate each child’s success with praise, then the baby will try to please you with his successes.
When a child starts school, he can be classified as a “reader.” At the same time, the heavy load associated with school assignments - the need to read something that is not what you like, takes reading from the category of a game to the category of a useful skill. All this reduces the child’s interest in reading in his spare time. To prevent interest in books and reading from fading, librarians and school teachers advise mothers to continue reading aloud together. Let the child return to the usual role of listener.
For parents and all adults who dream of seeing their child become a reader, it is important to take into account the following features of the organization of his activities:
ü reading for a child or a child’s independent reading should be systematic, daily;
ü the duration of reading should not exceed 5 – 10 minutes at the initial stage, because the child's ability to maintain attention is limited;
ü while reading, an adult must maintain an even, calm tone and read with expression;
ü reading should begin and end with positive emotions, even if there were negative moments;
ü it is necessary to praise the child, if not for success, then at least for effort;
ü you cannot read with a child or offer him independent reading if he is overtired, feels unwell, or is sick;
ü it is necessary to be attentive not only to the child’s behavior while reading, but also to his complaints;
ü you should not move on to reading the next book if the previous one has not yet been read;
ü try to create motivation for the baby (he reads or listens to learn a lot);
ü do not overload the child’s vision, work with the book in good lighting;
ü do not yell at the child while reading, do not punish for failure, do not get annoyed if failures are repeated;
ü read and reread a favorite book as much as the young reader wishes;
ü create a library of your favorite books in your home;
ü cultivate a caring attitude towards books - do not tear them, if necessary - repair them; do not throw away if the books are no longer interesting to the child, but give them to another child; make a book the best gift.
Be patient and you will definitely achieve a positive result!
Teacher – speech therapist Tatyana Petrovna Shestakova
MKDOU of the city of Novosibirsk "Kindergarten No. 447
combined look “Seven-flowered”
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What to do?
The basis of any of the existing methods of introducing children to reading, according to experts in the field of pedagogy and psychology, is a combination of the following factors:
- when (at what age) do children begin to read;
- like reading to a child.
When should you start reading to your child?
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The sooner the better, literally from 4-5 months of age! This can be done during the day, alternating reading with some active or developmental activity. Considering the age of the baby, these can be simple quatrains, nursery rhymes, or nursery rhymes. It is important that the child listens and perceives the sound of individual letters or whole words, learns to understand and distinguish the intonations with which the voice sounds.
Make evening reading and reading before bed a daily ritual. Evening is a time of decreased activity, all active activities are over and the child is in a relaxed state
Start reading aloud when your child is ready for bed and lying in his crib, but do it in such a way that he can see the book illustrations.
One of the child psychologists who deals with early reading issues advises additionally using the following technique - when reading a book to a child, be sure to maintain tactile contact, namely, lightly massage his palm:
- parental touch always calms;
- Such a massage of a child’s palm will have a beneficial effect on the state of his nervous system. There is an active development of certain areas of the cerebral cortex, since nerve impulses from the receptors located on the baby’s palm enter directly into the cerebral cortex. This will be noticeable in a very short time, the child becomes more attentive and calmer;
- Due to the receipt of nerve impulses, the work of the child’s internal organs will also improve.
In such a situation, the baby will better perceive the reality around him (everything he sees and hears). This means quick and high-quality memorization of everything you read. True, there is one small condition - there should be no background of extraneous sounds around.
By the age of one, the baby will be so accustomed to reading in the evenings that it will become his need, he himself will bring you a book and “ask” you to read.
