A parent can develop critical reading skills in his child at a very early age.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a way to start:\u00a0 use the five W\u2019s when you read with your child.\u00a0 Those questions are Who, What, When, Where, and Why about the story or lesson.\u00a0 Don\u2019t ever fall into the trap of simply asking what happened, particularly if you don\u2019t know the story.\u00a0 And there\u2019s a fine line between allowing the child to be creative and imaginative while still understanding the reality of the author\u2019s purpose.\u00a0 That\u2019s where only the parent who knows his child can make the call.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
As the adult reader, you must first determine what the author\u2019s purpose in this work is.\u00a0 For elementary reading, this falls into only a few categories.\u00a0 Entertainment, or to make us laugh and enjoy, is common.\u00a0 Authors also write to teach a lesson, develop a moral (the distinction between right and wrong), and to inform (exposition).\u00a0 When your child answers those five W\u2019s, they should \u201cfit\u201d the author\u2019s purpose within reason.\u00a0 It\u2019s important not to allow the child to stray too far from this in his answers.\u00a0 If a child is allowed to assume that any answer he gives is correct, even when it is not, an incorrect pattern of detecting and putting clues together will develop.\u00a0 Children stick very hard and fast to what they learn first, so make every effort to get the reading pattern established from the beginning: author\u2019s purpose, explained by answering the five W\u2019s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I know what you\u2019re thinking.\u00a0 If the author is only writing to entertain, how can my young reader answer those five questions?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
1. Is the character (Who?) funny in a particular way, such as mannerisms, slips of the tongue, or mistaken concepts?\u00a0 Readers should laugh at the character because they see themselves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
2. What is the entertaining event in this story?\u00a0 It could be a plan that goes wrong, or falling into the swimming pool fully clothed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
3. Is the time set in the story (When?) appropriate to the character and the event?\u00a0 Does the time element enhance the story?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
4. It doesn\u2019t make sense to read about the hustle and bustle of noise if the story takes place in a rural area (Where).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
5. Why does the character make the choices we read about?\u00a0 How do those decisions affect the outcome?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
If the answer to any of these is that it doesn\u2019t really matter to the story, you have a weak piece of literature, or have made an incorrect conclusion.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[132],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8278","catbird-seat","type-catbird-seat","status-publish","hentry","category-from-the-catbird-seat"],"yoast_head":"\n