Very simple, small actions during reading can have a big impact on what a child takes away from sharing a book with an adult.
To get the most out of a shared reading, encourage your child to appreciate the pictures, and also guide their attention to printed words. Doing so may help your child’s reading, spelling, and comprehension skills down the road.
Point out specific words: “Here are the penguin’s words. He says, ‘thank you.’”
Call attention to the way pages are read, the role of the author, and print direction: “This is the top of the page. This is where I begin reading.”
Show children individual letters and point out the difference between upper and lower case.
Lastly, point to words as you read so children learn to match spoken and written words.
Adapted from Reading Rockets.