OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and...you get the idea.

Helping Struggling Readers by Susan Fondrk

 and Cheryl Frasca

So, my 21-month-old daughter, Rhiannon, is well-versed in creating games that never end. Even if you are not a parent you, at some point, have found yourself caught in a never-ending game with a kid that he or she likes so much they don't want to stop, and that you also enjoyed - the first 100 times. While we were in Washington DC, my friend Cole pointed out that Rhiannon was throwing her straw on the ground so that he would pick it up as part of a grand psychological experiment. This is quite right.

Kids perform experiments all the time and want to repeat things all the time because that is how they (and we) learn. I’m not sure what she is learning by poking both of her wet fingers deep into my ear canals repeatedly, but it must be something. The great thing for us is that we can take advantage of this need to repeat and use it for good.

Right now Rhi is watching “Signing Times with Alex and Leah” over and over and over and over. Say the word goat or show her a picture of a goat and this girl will throw her hands to her chin and then prongs to her forehead faster than a lamb can wag its tail. She is also watching some French instructional videos over and over and over. She seems to enjoy the pictures, but she looks at me like she's asking why the cartoons can't speak right.

But there are other ways to use this need to repeat over and over again and at the same time begin to develop some reading comprehension skills - even for pre-readers. The beginning stages of comprehension are recognizing and recalling, which we can assess through simple who-what-where-when questions. That book that you have read at bedtime 4500 times is a great place to start. For us this might be Curious George Goes to the Zoo.

1. Sit with the book and your kiddo but don’t open the book.
2. Point out things on the cover. If the characters appear on the cover point to them and ask WHO they are.
3. Ask “Who are the other characters in the story?” (Zookeeper, Man with the yellow hat, animals)
4. Ask “Where did George go?” (the zoo, to see the lions, to the rain forest)
5. Ask “What did George do at the zoo?” (gave the animals snacks, found the bird, fixed the fence)

Simple answers and simple questions, but they are important questions and can become more complex the more you read the book. Kids like the repetition of the same book again and again (although I admit to hiding The First of Octember).

The same who-what-where-when questions can be used as kids get older and start to develop reading skills. Have kids read short sentences independently or with your help and then answer the same questions. Eventually ask the 4-Ws about full paragraphs and chapters of books.

Recalling and recognizing are the beginning of reading comprehension, but you don’t have to wait until kids can read to start building the reading muscles.

Take advantage of what kids already do - over and over and over again ñ and turn them into teachable moments.