Story books and reading fluency

For children who have learnt to technically decode – to sound out the black marks and shapes on a page and understand what they mean – reading books is a marvellous way, in fact the very best way, to become more fluent readers.

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Children should be spoilt for choice of books to read for pleasure and learning. We don’t need to be too judgemental about what children read – not every book needs to be Literature with a capital L. If we can give children the experience of the joy of reading, they will become readers. This can only happen once children can decode, and it’s a critical first step that our schools have to have every child capable of reading letters and words accurately and at reasonable speed.

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An enjoyable story is a great start, adding words to the child’s vocabulary is excellent, a story that demonstrates words and sentences put together in meaningful and interesting ways, a tale that encourages the child to try become a writer – all these are marvellous gifts a book can give.

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A story may help children make connections with what they already know but also help them to move into the less known or the unknown. It may name emotions or experiences that the child is familiar with but needs words and interpretations for. A good book, fiction or non-fiction, will help children answer questions and formulate new questions.

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It is not necessary for every book to reflect the child’s reality, as some insist. The whole point of reading is not to mirror, but to open. The book beckons the reader into worlds and thoughts and imaginings that allow us to conceptualise far beyond the particularities of our lives.

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Along with good, accessible reading material, every child would benefit from having a good reader read to them. Talking about books read together will model reading strategies, give the child access to texts beyond their technical capability but within their conceptual ability, and develop comprehension skills. Reading should be a valuable currency in South African homes. Children should ideally own their own books and be able to read them as many times as they want because …

"Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift." – Kate DiCamillo

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