Reading workshop – Autumn 2 Research shows that children who are helped at home make better progress in school. Reading with your child can be fun and very rewarding. If children enjoy reading, it will benefit their whole education. They are also more likely to carry on reading as adults. Benefits of reading together for your child Stimulating imagination Helping develop language skills Helping develop comprehension skills Demonstrating that reading is important

Reading is a skill that has two parts! Word Recognition (decoding) - The ability to recognise words presented in and out of context. Comprehension - The process by which word information, sentences and discourse are interpreted. The same processes underlie comprehension of both oral and written language.

How do children learn how to read? Phonic clues Word recognition Knowledge of content Grammatical awareness

The main purpose of reading is to build a visual image of the text Attitude Decode Understand Respond

?? Comprehension questions ?? Literal questions – recalling information that is directly stated in the text Deductive and Inferential Questions – asking children to work out answers by reading between the lines, combining information from different parts of the text and by going beyond the information given. Evaluative and response questions – thinking about whether a text achieves its purpose, or making connections with other texts

Reading strategy activity

What does your child like to read? Choose any books that appeal to your child, for example, stories or information books on hobbies/interests such as football or animals. Vary your reading together. It doesn’t have to be school books. Newspapers, magazines, recipes, games instructions can be read together and still be part of the process of learning to read with enjoyment.

Listening comprehension is increased and your child will remember points more easily if you have a good background knowledge and discussion of the topic before the you begin.

What would you ask your child about the book cover before they start reading it? (Activity) What things in this picture do you already know about? What are some of the key vocabulary words we might come across in this book? What questions do you have about the book from its cover?

Do you know the reading strategies your child uses? 1. I take notes when reading to help me understood what I have read. 2. When text becomes difficult, I read aloud to help me understand what I read. 3. I summarise what I read to reflect on important information in the text. 4. I discuss what I read with others to check my understanding. 5. I underline or circle information in the text to help me remember it. 6. I use reference materials such as dictionaries to help me understand what I read. 7. I go back and forth in the text to find connecting ideas in it.

Between now and next week…. Find out which book is your child’s favourite What type of books do they like? Who is their favourite book character? Where do they like to read? What strategies help them to read?

Reading Workshop Session 2 Autumn 2

‘Comprehension is like having a pretend conversation.’ Comprehension does not come naturally to some children. These children must be told that the text is supposed to make sense. Some children need help to understand how one action in the passage leads to another. Some connections come easier and quicker for some than others. Natural readers ‘hear’ their thinking in their heads as an inner conversation that helps them make sense of what they read. It is useful to also help your child make personal connections to the story e.g. talking about them 'helping mum bake a cake!'

How can I help? • Find a quiet, relaxing place away from distractions such as TV • Sit comfortably in good light and talk to your child about their book • Read for about 10 minutes; a regular short time of quality is better than a long session which happens only occasionally • Ask why they have chosen the book • Talk about the cover and title and what the story might be about • Ask them to tell you who wrote the book or point to the author • Look at the pictures and ask them to tell you where the story takes place • Ask who they can see in the pictures • Try to be supportive and positive during the reading time • Encourage your children to look closely at the print • Read the first page or two together until your child is ready to continue alone • Encourage your child to point to each word as they read aloud • Where possible wait for your child to decode words • Encourage the use of clues such as the look/sound of the letters, what would make sense and the illustrations

What to do if your child gets stuck on a word in the text.. let them read on so they can work out the word themselves from the context point to a picture if it will help them guess the meaning give them the first or last sounds to help them o read along with them then pause, prompt, praise if they get it right read the word for them (especially if it is a Proper Name) when they are confident with sounds, let them sound out unknown words – break longer words down in to syllables o do not sound out words which are not phonetic e.g “because”

Reading activity with your child (20 mins) Using the resources on the desk, complete some of the activities with the books on the table.

If reading becomes a challenge at home… We would like all of our children to enjoy reading rather than see it as a an effort/hard work/something they don’t enjoy. to avoid confrontation Offer alternative reading material, e.g. internet access, magazines, non – fiction etc... Encourage reading at different times of the day or week Buy/borrow books on tapes from the local library and then you can listen whilst in the car of before bed Share reading activities and interact with the text together Share the problem with your child’s teacher, we are here to help!