Read a book to your child. Choose a familiar book with rhymes, or a book with repeating lines. Keep a variety of books in the house, such as rhyming, fairytale, and educational books. Familiarize your child with each book.
Point to each word as you read it aloud. Pointing to the word will help your child relate the sound of the word to its appearance. Also, you will demonstrate that reading goes from left to right.
Explain new words to your child as you read. If you run across a new or long word, tell your child the definition of the word. Help her sound it out.
Assess your child's comprehension. Take breaks from reading aloud to ask your child to recap the plot, make predictions, and describe what she enjoys about the story. If you are reading a picture book, take time to enjoy the pictures with your child, and explain how the pictures relate to the words.
Give your child chances to read books to you, and praise her when she does well.
Ask your child questions about the characters, actions, words, and places after you finish reading a book.