Baby steps: Reading to infants starts the learning process

By: CAMERON LEIGH JAMES - For the North County Times | Saturday, August 5, 2006 8:04 PM PDT ∞

Learning to read isn't a spontaneous event triggered by a child's first day of kindergarten. But for children who have been exposed to language and books at an early age, two local experts say, learning to read can be a breeze.

According to Caroline J. Blakemore and Barbara Weston Ramirez, two reading specialists, parents hold the key to their child's future academic success. They've written a primer to show parents that reading aloud to baby provides the foundation necessary for learning.

There's a simple concept at the heart of "Baby Read-Aloud Basics" (www.readtoyourbaby.com, Amacom Books, $15): Reading out loud to your baby is a fun, natural, bonding experience that teaches your child how to listen and pay attention.

"It's what parents do before school that creates good students," said Blakemore.

As a Title 1 program reading teacher, Blakemore conducted read-aloud workshops for PTA parents of Title 1 students in the Valley Center Pauma Unified School District for 29 years. (Title 1 is a federally funded public school program that helps students who have difficulty learning to read.) Now a literacy consultant in Ventura, Blakemore helps teachers set up language arts programs.

Ramirez, a Rancho Bernardo resident, has been a Title 1 reading teacher at Valley Center Pauma for 10 years. She also designs curricula for Spanish-speaking students and gives read-aloud workshops in Spanish. A mother of two school-aged children, she partnered with Blakemore on a previous book for teachers, "Literacy Centers for the Primary Classroom."

For six years, the two teachers spent summer vacations and weekends researching, writing and discussing their project, a process that included interviewing parents and testing their theory on students.

"We realized the kids coming to us in Title 1 were lacking in language skills," said Ramirez. "We could teach them with phonics and they could start reading very simple books, but later on when they had to read material that had higher level words, or what we call rare words, or just different words we don't use in everyday language, these kids would fall behind because they couldn't comprehend them."

After years of being approached by parents looking for a quick fix to help their children learn to read, Ramirez said, "What we really wanted to tell the parent was, 'If you had been reading to your child from birth, he would have what we call the basic building blocks that we need as reading teachers to help him learn to read.' So the book was born out of a need for us, as teachers, to help these kids do better."

Recent studies of brain development and learning ability cited in the book support the authors' assertion that parents play a significant role in the quantity and quality of language necessary for their child's academic success.

"Children who have been talked to and read to a lot since birth will have heard 32 million more words by age 4 than children who didn't hear all that language," said Blakemore. "We can't learn to talk by age 2 unless we have been talked to. Listening comprehension determines reading comprehension."

The book is in three sections: the benefits and basics of reading aloud; step-by-step instructions for reading aloud with recommendations on age-appropriate book types and specific titles; and resources and practical tips.

The writers tested many children's books on babies, including Blakemore's grandchildren and Ramirez's son, Ricardo, who was born during the project, to see how they responded. The authors recommend (and review) titles tailored to the different stages of a child's physical, visual and language development.

"There would be no sense in reading a Harry Potter book that you read to your first-grader to your 2-month-old," said Blakemore. "Nor would your 4-year-old be interested in a simple counting book that had only 11 words in it, suitable for a 6-month-old baby."

The book gives talking points and suggestions designed to encourage an interactive reading experience that will hold the baby's attention. "Reading to babies is different than reading to older children," said Blakemore.

So what is an appropriate age to start reading aloud to your baby? As soon after birth as practical. According to the authors, reading and writing skills begin at birth, when a baby is exposed to language. Establishing a reading routine early is important for babies and parents, too.

"A lot of people won't read to a child until six months, but if you don't start from birth, you don't know what you're missing," said Ramirez. "The child is so responsive, and it's such an incredible experience. The relationship that forms can't happen any other way."

Cameron Leigh James is a freelance writer.

Related links:

www.readtoyourbaby.com

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