Transcript

Reading opens the doors to life. Children have fun just sitting and listening to a story if it's told in a very wonderful manner. I like to be overly dramatic when I'm reading a story to my children, that way the children are completely engaged but they're also listening very carefully to the message that is being imparted. If I want to teach the children about different parts of the world, I might chose a big book story that I can read to them because they're not able to read these books on their own as yet. And until they do, I still want them to gain awareness and understanding of the words that are being written within a story. I will read these books out loud to them, and I will make sure that the children are understanding what is happening within the book.
 
The way for me to check for understanding, is that I can have simple popsicle sticks with the words 'Yes' or 'No'. I will chose questions that are simple, but will allow them to gain understanding of the message that I'm trying to get across. And the children can hold them up, and once again, it's a wonderful, quick way of gaining assessment and checking for understanding with your children. I can also get them to understand whether stories are fiction or non-fiction, whether stories have a moral and what the message is that we're trying for the children to gain. So go ahead, enjoy reading out loud to your children. Be very very overly dramatic, and have fun with your children. 

I work in a Hebrew day school. There are many books that can be very enjoyable for the children. However, there may be things that the children are not aware of. Such as in the story Green Eggs and Ham, this story is about meat that comes from a pig. My children might not be aware of ham coming from a pig, so I will clearly state to the children, that this is a funny story, and other people may eat ham. Ham comes from a pig, so we will not be eating ham. But it is a funny story with a funny message that they can enjoy. Same as in the story Julius, that may also be talking about a pig. Pigs are not kosher, but they can still be fun.