"Hear and say" reading

How you read to your child is as important as how often you read. “Hear and Say” reading encourages your child to think and talk by answering open-ended questions. This method works well in any language.

What kind of books work best?

Books that are good for "Hear and say" reading . . .

• have clear pictures
• have a simple story
• are not too long
• have pictures of things that are familiar to your child
• show action and detail in the pictures
• are interesting to your child

List of titles

How to help your child learn words

• ask your child "what" questions
• repeat what your child says
• ask your child to finish a sentence by filling in a word or phrase
• help your child as needed
• give the answer and ask your child to repeat
• praise and encourage your child
• follow your child's interests

How to increase your child's understanding of a story

Ask open-ended questions.  For example:

• Who is that?
• What do you think might happen next?
• Where to you think she's going?
• Why do you think he did that?

Follow answers with a question.  For example:

• What else do you see?
• I wonder how . . . ?
• How did that happen?
• What do you think?

Expand on what your child says by adding another piece of information.  For example:

• Yes, it's a ball.  It's a big red ball.

Help your child repeat your longer phrases.

Ask your child questions that connect something in the book with your child's life.  This kind of questioning is beyond very young children. Wait until your child is four- or five-years-old.

More "hear and say" reading tips

• avoid questions that can be answered by "yes" or "no" or pointing
• read a story through first without asking questions
• read a story several different times asking different questions
• limit questions to two or three per page
• don't use this technique all the time or with all stories
• stop before your child loses interest
• keep it fun!