Reading books with pre-schoolers is easy - the parent reads and the kid listens. But, what should do you do when the child is learning to read? Should you let them struggle through each word? Should you jump in whenever they get stuck? Should you formulate comprehension questions?  Here are a couple of tips.

Remember the Goal
The best thing you can do for your child is foster a love of reading. They don’t have to be a fluent reader in order to comprehend a book. When you sit down to read with your child, try to make it fun.

Challenge, but Don’t Frustrate
When a child is reading alone, it’s important that the text is appropriate for their reading skill.  When you’re reading together, you can choose any book at any level - as long as it’s interesting to the child. You will support more or less depending on the difficulty.  When they come to a word they don’t know, give them a clue (”look at the picture” or “It starts with C, just like your name”). If they don’t get it, move on. If the child gets frustrated, the fun is over.

Focus on Comprehension
Talk about what’s happening in the book. Talk about the pictures. Make connections to the child’s life. Make connections to other books.  You’re conveying the message that reading is not just about sounding out words.  Reading makes you think and makes you laugh. When you’re talking about a book, the most open-ended questions are the ones that make kids think the most (they are also the most difficult). For example, you might simply say, “What are you thinking?”. If that’s enough to get them talking, great. If you get a blank stare, you’ll have to get a bit more specific, “What did you think about Charlie?” and then, “Why did Charlie want to go to the toy store?”. You can progress like this until you get some conversation going, but always try to get back to those open-ended questions.  Sometimes the child is thinking about something that may never have occured to you.

Additional Resources:
US Department of Education
KidsReads.com
Carol Hurst