Why You Should Record Your Early Reader
Are you searching for ideas you can try to help your child improve in reading or even get excited about reading? One idea I’ve tried in my tutoring experience and with my own children is to record the child reading. It doesn’t have to be the entire book, but definitely clips of reading. Sometimes I try to get the view of the page that is being read. When you rewatch the video, you can see the text being read and hear what the child is saying. But, why take video at all? Here are some thoughts.
It lets my the child know the skill is important and worthy of taking a video.
If you have a camera shy child, you may have to adjust how you take the recording. Mostly, I’ve had a successful experience recording children read. When my children finish a book, I’ll often take a photo of them with the book. They are so proud of the accomplishment! If a parent is bringing their child to me for tutoring, we have traded videos of the child reading so we can share how the child is progressing. That brings me to my next point.
It tracks progress.
A video taken on your phone will always have a date attached. If your child has been skipping words or reading in a robotic way (or whatever the case may be), you will have record of it. So what’s the point? Sometimes you forget just how far your child has come. Sometimes the child needs to see how far he or she has come. Watching a video from a month or two before can demonstrate to the child that hard work has paid off! This can also work with speech delays. As I watch old footage of my children, I notice how they used to speak and pronounce words.
It can be used for a mini-lesson.
When a child needs to correct a particular reading behavior (not stopping at a period, robotic reading, skipping lines, etc.), it can help for the child to witness the behavior and acknowledge it first. I’m not speaking about tearing the child down by constantly mentioning mistakes only. We should always be aware to compliment the child in the good and solid reading behaviors he or she has. However, when you’re looking at improvements to be made, you show your child examples of successful reading behaviors (modeling them yourself) and poor reading examples (by showing them what they have been doing and how they can improve). You can comment on the video what your child did really well and what areas need improved. Show how to make the improvements with your example.
It preserves memories.
If you have an early reader, then you are in a busy stage of life. Preserving memories on video is worth it. Watching those videos can bring back those special times of sitting together and reading a book aloud. You’ll never regret having those clips to look back on.
You can use this strategy of recording for any skill—whether it be something in physical education or even speech. Recently, I paid a speech therapist to work with my son for a couple of months. By looking at videos and listening to them, he was able to hear himself and how he sounded different. If you don’t recognize there is an issue, then how can you adapt to fix the issue?
In what ways have you used videos to help your child? Do you think you may try it? Leave a comment below and let’s discuss!
Remember, YOU are your child’s MOST INFLUENTIAL teacher.