– Carl Sagan
Picture books are perfect for reading aloud. Reading aloud to children every single day is one of the most important things anyone can do in order to help children grow and become better thinkers, readers and overall human beings.
Research has shown that parents or teachers who read aloud motivate students to read. The rhythm and rhyme of picture books makes them easy to understand and fun to read aloud, allowing children to develop a better understanding of their world.
Here are five important benefits of reading aloud to children:
- Improved vocabulary – Children learn language primarily through listening. Reading aloud lets children hear new words, which builds their vocabulary and helps them develop language.
- Enjoyment – Children enjoy being read to and they will see reading as something fun and positive. Reading aloud makes children more likely to become interested in learning to read.
- Increase attention span – Reading aloud encourages children to listen, pay attention, and concentrate, which can increase their overall attention span.
- Exploring feelings – Reading a story aloud that explores particular emotions helps some children to accept their own feelings and understand how others feel.
- Strengthens cognition – When children are regularly exposed to higher level language and quality literature, they learn how to apply their cognitive abilities to understand the text.
If you want to learn more about picture books, you can check out Week 1 and Week 2 here.
With Thanksgiving just two weeks away, I thought I would share some of my favorite read aloud Thanksgiving picture books:
November 15th
Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet
November 16th
Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano
November 17th
The Great Thanksgiving Escape by Mark Fearing
November 18th
Around the Table That Grandad Built by Melanie Heuiser Hill
November 19th –
Squantos Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruchac
Writing prompt – Retell this story from Squantos point of view
November 22nd –
Thanksgiving is For Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland
November 23rd –
Duck for Turkey Day by Jacqueline Jules
November 23rd
Thank You Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving
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Challenge – Your challenge for this week is to celebrate Thanksgiving with one of these great picture books or select one of the writing prompts to share with children while waiting for the turkey to be ready.
Be sure to let me know below if you have any books or activities we can share with children. My comment box is feeling lonely. Please send it some love!
Check back next Friday for my list of my final picks for Picture Book Month!
Have a great week!