Reading books with children is one of the most powerful and enjoyable ways to foster language development. Whether it’s exploring picture books, telling stories, or engaging with the illustrations, shared book reading offers endless opportunities to enhance a child’s speech and language skills. As parents, caregivers, and educators, we can use these reading moments to nurture important skills in ways that are both fun and interactive.
Here are some creative ways to use shared book reading to develop your child’s language:
A great way to start a book reading session is by allowing your child to make choices. Hold up 2-3 books and prompt your child to select which one they want to read. This simple act of requesting not only builds their vocabulary but also helps them practice decision-making skills. You can make this process more engaging by saying something like, “Do you want to read the cat book or the dinosaur book?” This encourages both communication and independence.
A fun and interactive activity to build comprehension is to ask your child to “find” objects in the pictures. For example, you could say, “Can you point to the mommy?” or “Do you see the cat?” This simple exercise encourages your child to recognize and identify familiar objects, strengthening their understanding of words and how they relate to the pictures they see.
Children love predictability. To encourage participation, create a routine where your child actively engages before you even start reading. For example, withhold the book and prompt them to say “open” or tap on the cover of the book before you begin. This builds anticipation, keeps them engaged, and offers a chance for them to practice communication before diving into the content of the book.
Involve your child in a back-and-forth reading session to practice turn-taking. Hold the book and say “my turn” when it’s your turn to read or point to an object, and “your turn” when it’s time for them to engage. This simple exchange helps develop social communication skills like sharing, taking turns, and responding to others, all while reinforcing language concepts.
Books are a perfect place to incorporate fun sounds and movements. As you go through the book, scan the pictures and make sounds related to the images. For example, if you’re reading a page with a dog, you might say, “Awww” while mimicking petting, or for a page with water, you could splash your hands in the air and say, “Wee!” The more dynamic and engaging the sound effects, the more likely your child is to interact with the book and imitate these fun noises, which helps reinforce vocabulary in a playful way.
Use book reading as an opportunity to label and point to objects, but avoid drilling your child with “What’s this?” Instead, try modeling expected responses and give your child a moment to imitate or respond. For example, you might say, “I see a dog,” and pause, allowing your child to either say “dog” or point to the dog in the picture. This method of modeling and waiting for a response is more natural and promotes language development without putting too much pressure on the child.
In addition to labeling objects, you can emphasize action words to help build your child’s language. Instead of simply saying, “Look, the dog,” try focusing on what the character is doing. For example, “The bird is flying!” or “The cat is sitting.” Action words like “eat,” “drink,” “jump,” “run,” and “play” are crucial for expanding your child’s vocabulary and helping them understand how actions are tied to words.
For younger children, books can serve as a great tool for play. One fun activity is to use a book to create a “peek-a-boo” routine. Choose a book with a fold-over flap or use your hands to hide behind a book cover, asking, “Where’s the [character]?” or “Want more?” The element of surprise and waiting for the child to request “more” or engage in the game is a great way to encourage communication and active participation.
Make reading time even more interactive by using toys, puppets, or small figurines to play with the book’s characters. If you're reading about animals, provide corresponding animal toys or puppets. Demonstrate how the toy can interact with the book by mimicking actions from the story. For example, make the animal puppet “jump” or “eat” from the book, and then encourage your child to copy. This type of play helps solidify the vocabulary in a hands-on, enjoyable way while encouraging creativity.
While reading, take the opportunity to talk about the book itself and build pre-literacy skills. Teach your child about the parts of the book: the cover, title, pages, pictures, and letters. Point to the front and back of the book, label the words, and explain what each part is for. You can say, “This is the title,” or “These are the letters.” By introducing these early literacy concepts, you're laying the foundation for reading comprehension and an understanding of how books work.
Shared book reading is not just about following along with the words on the page—it's an opportunity to develop language skills in a rich, dynamic, and engaging way. Whether you’re helping your child make requests, reinforcing vocabulary, or introducing pre-literacy concepts, books are a treasure trove of learning opportunities. The key is to make reading interactive, fun, and responsive to your child’s needs, encouraging them to actively participate in the experience.
By integrating these strategies into your reading sessions, you’re not only helping your child become a more confident communicator but also fostering a lifelong love for books and learning. So next time you pick up a book, remember: reading together can do so much more than tell a story—it can build the foundation for your child’s language and communication skills for years to come.