Reading at home with your child

Reading and a love for reading begins at home A child’s success as a reader begins much earlier than the first day at school. If you demonstrate a love for reading then your child will love reading too. A child who is read to will want to learn to read for him/herself.

Make it enjoyable! Read to your child no matter what level or age they are. Making reading visible- have books, comics, newspapers , magazines available in your home Share books every day- 10 to 15 minutes. A little and often is best. Talk about stories. Extend reading beyond books to the environment ie. Logos, letters in carparks, shopping lists, posters, bill boards etc.

The power of reading! Creating a love for reading in children is one of the most powerful ways of improving your child’s academic standards in school. The world of books offers a rich and diverse range of language and vocabulary.

Reading requires two skills Phonics and word recognition The ability to blend letter sounds (phonemes) together to read words. Be careful of becoming dependent, disrupts pace. The ability to recognise words presented in and out of context. Understanding The ability to understand the meaning of the words and sentences in a text. The ability to understand the ideas, information and themes in a text.

The early stages Read to your child. Make reading time special. Find a quiet space away from the TV/Xbox/Wii/Ipad etc. Use voices and vary the tone of your voice-don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself! Share and read nursery rhymes and familiar stories. Be prepared to read the same story many, many times! Ask questions about prediction and opportunities to use the language of the text to discuss the pictures. It’s all about MODELLING to your child.

There is no app that replaces your lap! Read with your child.

Model when reading The writing tells the story not the picture Pointing to each word as you read when reading simple texts Left page comes before right page Starting on the left hand side Moving your finger from left to right Return sweep

The Early stages(continued) Talk about the illustrations. They provide extra information that is not in the text eg The Little Red Hen or Each Peach Pear Plum. Encourage your child to join in with familiar/repeated parts and phrases as they become more confident. Encourage your child to hold the book up the correct way, discuss the covers and turn the pages with care.

Moving on….. Continue to use the illustrations to support the story. Continue to read the title and predict/discuss what might happen next / at the end. Talk about what the child likes/dislikes about the story. Ask questions such as: Who is your favourite character? Where does the story take place? Ask them to re-tell the story in their own words.

And on…. Ask them to share their opinions about what they have read in terms of the characters’ actions, the plot, the setting etc. Check for tricky words before reading a book for the first time. Discuss their meaning. Ask who, where/what /how/ when /why questions, but be careful not to overload! Use the prompts in the home reading logs.

What to do if your child is stuck Prompts and questions to use: What sound does the word begin with? Does the picture help you? Can you blend the sounds together? b – a – t is bat Do you recognise any parts of the word? part as in p - art Do you know a word that looks like that? If you know come you can read some Read that again- what would make sense? Does it sound right? What is the story about? What might fit here?

How to use these strategies at home John let his pet frog go. It ****** across the grass. What is the first sound? It h***** across the grass. What would make sense? It hopping across the grass. Does that sound right? It hopped across the grass.

Understanding Comprehension Re-tell the story. Use prompts. Summarize the story. Summarizing hands. Find information on the page. (looking) Using information to lead to a answer. (clue) Find information NOT on the page. (thinking) Predicting what might happen… How do you think the character felt…? (understanding different view points) Why do you think the author chose…? (phrases, words, scenes, alliteration etc)

And finally… Above all, have fun and enjoy reading. Allow your child to follow their interests. Encourage them to read a range both fiction and non-fiction texts. Join a library. Have books everywhere. Above all, have fun and enjoy reading.

Reading Websites   http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/play.htm?f  On-line books useful to teach reading at KS1. (Beware as site uses American pronunciations) www.oxfordowl.co.uk A free and easy to use site that aims to help parents to help their children read. It has over 100 free e-books to enjoy with your child, a phonics guide and games and activities. www.storylineonline.net A free resource providing stories for children to listen to and follow. www.wegivebooks.org A variety of books to read or read-a-long to. www.abcya.com A variety of activities and stories http://ngexplorer.cengage.com/ngyoungexplorer/index.html Click on More Issues at the bottom of the page for more opportunities to read non-fiction. http://en.childrenslibrary.org For those who can’t get to an actual library - join online.

Thank you for coming today!