Young Readers Flock to Bookfair
The fall Bookfair has drawn crowds of students this week, from the smallest picture book connoisseurs to the young adult fiction enthusiasts. For weeks they have been tightening their belts and saving their allowance money in order to bring home a new volume of stories, characters, and ideas.
Felice Rutstein-Lee has been organizing bookfairs at Conservatory Lab for several years. She loves seeing the students so excited about reading. “Students start asking me about it in September,” she explains. “Students tell me they wait to buy their favorite books here because they know it helps the school.”
Tips for Reading at Home
Literacy Coach Shoshana Jacobs offers advice for encouraging reading among young learners.
- Make reading a part of every day. Carry a book with you to the doctor’s office, on the T, in the car… reading isn’t just for bedtime.
- Make the story come alive. Read to your child, in any language and make it fun. At every age, children need to hear what fluent reading sounds like.
- Talk about books with your child. Ask them what they liked or didn’t like about the book. Talk about what you think might happen next. Discuss the illustrations, characters, and events or the information learned in a nonfiction book.
- Encourage your child as they read to you. Give them positive feedback. Make the reading experience joyful.
- Visit the library together, find out what kinds of books your child loves. Feed into their interests in order to help them build a love of reading.
- Be a reading role model. Your kids will learn the best habits from watching those around them.
- If you weren’t able to buy books at the Bookfair this time around, your child can visit the Conservatory Lab Lending Library or the public library to borrow books!