I
thought that perhaps reading aloud to tweens/teens was too juvenile a practice,
but a little research revealed the opposite.
Jim
Trelease is an educator and author who stresses reading aloud to children to
instil in them the love for literature.
Per
him, reading aloud to your child is like an advertisement for reading. When you
read aloud, you are creating a child’s interest in reading. A child who has
been read to, will want to learn to read herself. She will want to do what she
sees her parent doing. But if a child never sees anyone pick up a book, she is
not going to have that desire.
Reading
aloud to older children-even up to age 14, who can comfortably read to
themselves- has benefits both academic and emotional, says Jim Trelease.
People
often say,” My child is in fourth grade and she already knows how to read, why
should I read to her?”
The
reply is, “Your child may be reading on a fourth-grade level, but what level is
she listening at?”
Per
Jim, a fourth grader can enjoy a more complicated plot than she can read
herself, and reading aloud is going to hook her. Children have no problem with
comprehension when they are using their listening skills.
