Supporting young Readers This evening we will explore: The importance of reading at home and school Reading Strategies: What they are and how they support readers Suggestions for reading “to” and “with” your child resources Purpose of session is to provide parents with background information on how children learn to read, components of reading, rationale behind reading instruction, and what you can do to foster your child’s reading skills. Presentation will primarily focus on providing decoding strategies, but will also address comprehension. Young readers need to develop strategies for solving unknown words, but also need to realize that there is purpose for reading, beyond merely figuring out each individual word.

Reading Begins at Home Research shows that your interest and involvement in your child’s learning and education is more important than anything else in helping your child fulfill their potential. As parents, you are the people who go with your child on their learning journey, from the day they are born to the time they become an adult.

Why Reading and Sharing Stories Matters bonding time for family and a way to share family traditions develops background knowledge encourages vocabulary development and awareness about the rhythm of language promotes understanding of the structure of writing stimulates curiosity, questioning and imagination Research evidence shows that your involvement in your child's reading and learning is more important than anything else in helping them to fulfil their potential. Children who are familiar with books and stories before they start school are better prepared to cope with the demands of formal literacy teaching. 5. Reading with children, or talking about what they have read, is a wonderful way to show that it is an important and valued way to spend free time.

Research Shows Children who have rich preschool literacy experiences that stimulate interest in text and improve oral language skills are at less risk for delays in reading development. (de Jong & Leseman, 2001) Such experiences include the availability of environmental print in the home, as well as, parents who read with their child and for themselves. Model reading as a life long skill and help your child learn to enjoy reading for pleasure and as a way to learn Talk about why you read and what you like to read Important to remember that there should always be a purpose for reading (to be entertained, to learn new information, to confirm something you think you know, to learn how to do something)…should always strive to understand what you’re reading. Otherwise it’s just words on a page. Reading familiar texts and rereading allows students to focus on comprehension & fluency.

And that . . . children who read to their parents, even if parents are non-readers or who do not read in English, demonstrate considerable improvement in their reading skills reading stories in any language develops understanding of story structure and vocabulary If you are not confident, talking about the pictures and making up your own story is also helpful

The Benefits carry into the classroom academic success desire and confidence to read for pleasure and learning improved school attendance and behaviour develop meaningful relationships with others increased self-esteem

Why Dads Should be Involved Research shows that when dad gets involved, their sons' and daughters' achievement is enhanced. Dads are just as important as moms in encouraging children to enjoy reading - perhaps even more so, since reading is often thought of by boys as a "girly" thing to do. Seeing them enjoying reading will help boys realize that they too can enjoy reading - they might just need help in finding the right thing to read.

Reading is Everywhere! Reading is all around us: shopping, waiting for a bus, visiting a museum, sitting in the doctor’s office brochures, catalogues, food labels, calendars, letters, cards, message boards, newspapers crafts, playing games and cooking together make journals, scrapbooks, cards together put books in the toy box books as gifts limit time on TV and do go to the library sing/chant nursery rhymes and songs, listen to music

Why Read “with” your child? builds sight word vocabulary and decoding skills words that are frequently encountered and often do not obey the rules of phonics promotes reading fluency reading that “sounds like talking” At school we will be teaching your child specific strategies that will assist them unlock the alphabetic code practise reading strategies in context of a real story to Develop sight word vocab Decode new words “fix it” when meaning is lost or breaks down and Develop fluency which leads to deeper understanding of text We will now share these with you and model what they look and sound like during the reading process.

Reading Strategies Fall into 2 categories; namely decoding and comprehension. Decoding strategies help us read new or unknown words in the context of reading the story. These strategies help us learn to read. Comprehension strategies assist the reader to understand the story in deep and meaningful ways. These strategies help us read to learn. Both categories are necessary to truly “read” a story To promote meaningful reading we need to ensure strategies are developed in both categories When enjoying the act of reading together as a family, focus on comprehension while supporting attempts at decoding But sometimes when you are reading a great story for pleasure, fun and learning, your focus will be on comprehension Decoding strategies assist students to independently figure out “tricky words”-words they do not read instantly. Due to way we were taught to read, parents often teach reading, relying on only one decoding strategy: “sound it out”. This is not always an effective strategy as many words/letters in the English language do not follow the rules. We will present you with a variety of strategies that can be used to figure out “tricky words”.

Look for a picture clue Students need picture cues to assist them with decoding. Don’t cover up the picture!

Say the beginning sound forest

Think, “What would make sense?”

Reread the sentence <

Skip it

Look for little words inside attend

Sound it out

“Does it look right?” Always ask… “Does it sound right?” “Does it make sense?” Wiggleworks: “Boots” Page 1: “Time”: skip it, think what would make sense Page 2: “Boots”: look at the picture. The child says “rubbers” Ask your child to look at the beginning letter. Would rubbers start with a ”b”? Page 3: “Sweater”: look at beginning sound. Could this say “coat” Page 4: “Hat”: little word inside. Cover up the “h” Page 5: “Scarf” read “Neck Warmer”: does that look right? (2 words, beginning sound) Page 6: “Coat”: sound it out (support with letter sounds) Introduce that when 2 vowels are together only the first one talk & it says its own name. Page 7: “Mittens” read “Mouse”: does that make sense? (context) Page 8: “Come” read “Comb”: does that sound right? (grammatically correct) Encourage your child to read it again so that it sounds right Following reading: provide student with feedback on their usage of strategies. “That is what good readers do”. By asking these questions when child uses a strategy you are helping them to self evaluate the strategies effectiveness. Self-checking and monitoring strategies Help students identify errors and fix them when necessary These strategies help readers build sight vocabulary and decode new words while reading. Now we will look at the comprehension strateiges that help readers develop meaning and deep understanding

Favourite Books

Start with the cover . . . -look at the cover and story title discuss related family experiences and background knowledge go for a “picture walk” by looking at all the pictures and discussing what is happening introduce unusual names or words that your child may not know in the “picture walk” encourage your child to share what they know about the title or pictures and what they think the story might be about now ask your child to make a prediction about what might happen in the story – this creates a purpose for reading ask your child if there are any reading strategies that they may like to try today Always need to encourage and foster comprehension, as it is the reason for reading. Pre Reading: go through book, looking at pictures, ignoring the words. Provide child with new vocabulary that might be a “tricky word”. Have student connect illustrations to their background knowledge. Have child make prediction about what might happen in book. Provide students with a purpose for reading. During the reading: check in with child to see if they are understanding what is happening in the book. Ask if what they are reading matches their prediction. Post Reading: Have child retell story in their own words; may look at pictures to assist them if necessary. What happened first? Next? Does this book remind you of anything you have read or heard before?

Give your child lots of praise and encouragement! Remember! reading should be a fun activity for everyone. set aside time as often as you can for reading encourage your child to choose books based on interests or shared experiences “You catch more bees with honey than vinegar” Give your child lots of praise and encouragement! set aside time as often as you can for reading encourage your child to choose books based on interests or shared experiences

Reading Resources

Reading IS ABOUT MEANING AND DEEP UNDERSTANDING Strategies skilled readers use include: activating background knowledge and making predictions based on clues asking questions and wondering making connections visualizing making inferences determining importance, paraphrasing and summarizing for our young readers and our purposes tonight we will concentrate on the first 4

While reading . . . stop every once in a while to ask your child what is happening was the prediction correct or has it changed? what clues helped us see that the prediction was going to be different? do the pictures link closely to the story or add new information ask questions, what are you wondering explore words, what they mean, how they create pictures in our minds, ways we can be creative with words make connections to ourselves, other stories and the world as new ideas develop do some words paint pictures in your mind

After the Story . . . Meaning and Understanding Begin with the text, but encourage discussion that connects personally to your experiences and situation, other books you may have read and events that are happening in our community and the world around. Listen carefully TO what your child is saying. Reading a story more than once often leads to deep understanding and questioning! Be observant for ways to go beyond this text and this discussion--further research, reading, writing, other creative activities are some possibilities that may be beneficial. Can you tell me about the story in your own words? How did it begin? I wonder why the author wrote this story. Great discussion opener after the story Children can use these times to share their deepest fears and doubts, they are learning and trying to put the world into perspective Support their ideas and the conclusions they come to

Now Let’s Give it a Try! We will model the process using a story from the internet