Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
A Home for My Books
Starting a home library for your child shows her how important books are. Having books of her own in a special place boosts the chance that your child will want to read even more. Here are some ideas for getting started!
What you need
- Books from bookstores, garage sales, flea markets, used book stores, and sales at your local library
- A bookcase, a cardboard box, or other materials to make a place for books
What to do
- Pick a special place for your child's books so that she knows where to look for them. A cardboard box that you can decorate together might make a good bookcase. Or you might clear one of the family bookshelves and make a special place for her to put her books.
- Help your child to arrange her books in some order — her favorite books, books about animals, or holiday books. Use whatever method will help her most easily find the book she's looking for.
- Borrow books from your local library. (See Visiting the Library.) Go to the children's section and spend time with your child reading and selecting books to take home and put in her special place. You might even have a box or space just for library books, so that they don't get mixed up with your child's own books.
- Encourage family members and friends to give books to your child as presents for birthdays and other occasions.
- When you and your child make your own books, you can add them to your home library.
When collecting and reading books are a part of family life, you send your child a message that books are important, enjoyable, and full of new things to learn!
Click the "References" link above to hide these references.
"Helping Your Child Become a Reader." U.S. Department of Education. First published in September 2000. Revised 2002 and 2005. http://www.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/reader/index.htmlComments and Recommendations
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Colorín Colorado is a free web-based, bilingual service that provides information, activities, and advice for educators and Spanish-speaking families of English language learners (ELLs, also known as students of English as a second language).
Colorín Colorado is produced by Reading Rockets — an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation's capital. Original artwork by Caldecott Award-winning illustrator David Diaz is used with permission.
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