Children should be encouraged to read aloud. But in order for oral reading to be a comfortable experience, it should be practiced before it is performed.

Choose a short story or part of a longer story that your child would like to read aloud. Have him practice reading the paragraphs with a cassette tape recorder on. Play back his reading and record it again until it sounds OK. This is particularly helpful if he has been asked to read in front of his class or to an audience.

If he has had a chance to practice reading aloud, he will feel much more at ease when it is his turn to do it.

- From "365 Afterschool Activities"