It would be hard to overestimate the importance of reading to children and the impact of storybook reading on their language and vocabulary growth.
In the chart below you see the number of words that children are able to speak at different ages, and you see the explosion of language that takes place between ages 2 and 5. Children go from using about two hundred different words a day at age 2, to using over two thousand different words a day by age 5. There are times of growth when children learn 2 to 3 new words a day!
What supports this dramatic growth? One critical factor is the child’s exposure to language being used in a wide variety of ways, and the expectation that the child will use language to participate in interactions with others. Storybook reading provides a wonderful opportunity for children to be exposed to a wide range of new words, and to expand their vocabulary by talking about the story.
What supports this dramatic growth? One critical factor is the child’s exposure to language being used in a wide variety of ways, and the expectation that the child will use language to participate in interactions with others. Storybook reading provides a wonderful opportunity for children to be exposed to a wide range of new words, and to expand their vocabulary by talking about the story.
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