When you think about it, most of the media our kids work with each day is in a visual form – videos, video games, movies … Very little of it is in written form, unless it’s part of a school assignment. And, if it is a work of fiction assigned for school, chances are good the story takes place in a school or camp, or some other setting that kids are familiar with. As a result, kids are not used to spending very much, if any, time for getting “into” a book.
The Problem
The problem is that if a kid can’t picture the setting and the characters in even the simplest way, they can’t fully enter into the world of the “story” told in the book. And, if you’re not involved in the story, why bother reading it? Why read Charlotte’s Web and learn about pigs, farms, barns, and country fairs when you can watch the movie? Why take an active part in creating the storyworld when you can be a passive observer who accepts someone else’s vision?
We’ll leave that excellent question unanswered for today, but please know that it has to do with active imagination, grammar, vocabulary, spelling — pretty much everything we writers hold dear. Instead, let’s focus on the things you can do to help your kid get “into” a book so that they can fully participate in the experience of reading for pleasure.
First Chapters
Many classic stories are SEL stories worth reading. Most of these books were written before streaming and video on demand. All of them were written before the movies from which they were created. Because of this, reading took a bit of an up-front investment. Kids didn’t expect to know the entire set-up, character relationships, and storyworld by the end of the first page. They would give the book a few pages at least, so that the author could create the world, introduce the characters, and establish what was normal (exposition), and hopefully reach the inciting incident by the time too many pages had been read.
Tough Going
For a kid, those first chapters are tough going. They’re reading, imagining, envisioning, trying to differentiate characters, understanding the day-to-day of this storyworld, and wondering what is going to happen to disrupt things and start the story. When a story is very well written, there is fun along the way that will hold the reader’s attention, but sometimes, a book that is well worth reading will take an entire chapter to set it all up. The trick is to get a kid through those first pages and to the point where the story grabs their attention.
Your Role
There are several ways you can help your kid get “into” a book.
- Use one of our growing number of Talk About posts.
- Use one of our new series of Opening Question sheets.
- Read the first chapter aloud, stopping to explain unfamiliar words.
- Use an image search to find pictures that go with the story.
- Provide a brief summary of what has happened and why those things matter.
Bottom Line
In the same way that your child had a chance to see their classroom at the end of summer as a way to feel comfortable on the first day, walking your child through the first chapter of a novel makes it possible for your child to feel comfortable in the world the author has created. Once kids are set in that storyworld, they are more than able to take it from there on their own. And, once you’ve taught them how to get “into” a book, the method becomes a tool in their skillset.