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.
Children's Books + Authors
Frequent questions
Expert answers
I would like to start teaching my 9-month old how to read, but he usually plays with books rather than reading them. How can I help him become a reader?
It is great that you want to help your child become a good reader! There are lots of ways to support these skills at every stage of his development.
At his age, he will probably not be holding books and noticing printed words. He is at a tactile stage, which means he will want to touch everything and explore his environment by putting objects in his mouth, throwing them, and otherwise conducting little experiments on his physical environment. This is normal and necessary for his development! (That's why board books are great for infants and toddlers.)
The way he will learn the proper way to use books is by watching you read and having early exposure to books. Keep reading with him, even if he doesn't really understand it, but don't force him to sit still or turn pages gracefully! He will begin to do this as he gets older.
What types of books should I have available for my young reader? Do you have any specific book recommendations?
To keep your child engaged with reading, you should keep a wide variety of books on hand, and make sure to include books on topics that interest him. In your book collection, keep books that your child currently enjoys so he can read them over and over again (repeat readings are great – they help kids feel comfortable with the story and begin "reading" it along with you!). You should also add new books regularly, and make them a little more advanced than his current collection. He will let you know – probably through a lack of interest – when a book is too difficult. Picture books are good because they allow you to point out words and help him begin to recognize letters and their associated sounds. Pictures also give clues to the story for young children who are just grappling with language–learning, but if he can follow the plot of a book without pictures, that's wonderful! The important thing is to go at his pace, but maintain a rich and varied literary environment.
For more information on reading to young children, check the following section of our site:
We also have a great list of recommended books for kids by theme, award winning books, etc. that you can order directly from amazon.com through our site.
Search Colorín Colorado
My new assignment this year requires me to teach Math and Science to the upper and lower grades as well as Spanish-S to first grade and kindergarten. When I read about Colorin Colorado in the UTD magazine I was very excited. Thank you so very much and I look forward to learning more about you.
~ Rosie F.
