Reading aloud lets kids enjoy 'Potter' and more

The brouhaha surrounding "Harry Potter" — midnight costume parties, anticipated outcomes of the favorite characters — has been delightful for fourth-graders and older. They are the ones who can decode and comprehend J.K. Rowling's mysteries and witchcraft. But for younger ones still lacking the reading skill to tackle 759 pages of fantasy, the frustration is apparent. They want to read and share the excitement but can't. It's not just "wait until you're able" but also the "being left out" that's frustrating.

David's family has decided to share "Harry Potter" with all the boys by reading the books aloud so they can share the fun together.

It isn't just the "Harry Potter" frustration either. Second-grader Allison wants to know "Mercy Watson" ("all my friends are reading it!") but she doesn't have the skill yet to read this delightful series independently.

Two-year-old Colby climbs up with "Are You My Mother?" and impatiently demands, "Read it!"

All three are examples where reading aloud could become one of the most solid components of language and reading development. Besides providing children some fond memories — a good reason in itself — there are other academic benefits of reading aloud to children.

Reading aloud introduces new words. From Ruby's insistence that Max learn the word "apple" (he actually responds with "delicious") in "Max's First Word" to the sparrows who "implored him to exert himself" in "Peter Rabbit," words heard in context are remembered and tried again and again. Imagine Colby's use of "snort" in his play or children adapting "bandersnatch" from "Jabberwocky" (Carroll) as a word to express frustration.

Besides new words, reading aloud introduces complex sentence structure. Literature is more highly developed than the ordinary language children have attained or beginners can read independently. "The tan cat ran fast" might be the reading fare for beginning readers, but those same children certainly understand "he wept so bitterly it was pitiful to see" and will delight in the rhythm and nuance.

Reading aloud offers various styles of written language and develops a sequence of literary elements. Language researcher Arthur Applebee calls this "sense of story." Fiction and nonfiction are more than just an author's words and dictation. Literature is full of descriptions, settings, even colloquialisms. As children listen, they develop a sense of tone variation, stylistic voice, mood and direct dialogue. They learn that characters act and speak in certain ways. Listeners try out conflicts in their minds and make predictions about subsequent events. They discover patterns of a story in various genres, all of which are paths to personal reading comprehension.