Literacy Helping to support your child

What is Literacy? Reading Writing Listening Speaking

Supporting reading Set a good example, children are much more likely to enjoy reading if they see their parents, friends and teachers enjoying reading. Reading isn’t just about books. Using the internet, newspapers and magazines to read can have a huge impact on reading ability. Good quality reading is vital. Look at the complexity and length of the words in your child’s reading material. Are they being challenged with new words and ideas? Support active reading. To enthuse and engage students in reading they need to have opportunity to talk about what they have read. Encourage children to give opinions and to question what they have read.

Supporting writing Writing ability is recognised by employers as one of the key skills that they look for when recruiting staff. Encourage students to check the quality of their writing regardless of the situation. Encourage creative and descriptive writing. Children often lose imagination as they move into adulthood. Encourage them to write blogs and reports on hobbies and other interests that will enthuse them.

Supporting Speaking Speaking is an under acknowledged literacy skill but is one of the most important. Encourage children to speak confidently to adults. Involve them in your conversations, allow them to voice opinions and form arguments. Make space to listen to children, often children learn to avoid speaking when adults don’t listen. Don’t be afraid to use adult vocabulary around children, this is how they will learn the majority of new words and concepts.

Supporting listening This is another important but undervalued skill. Listening is vital to learning, behaviour, concentration and social interaction. Listening often suffers from bad habits. Try to encourage children to listen by checking they have heard and absorbed what you have said. Read and speak to children and then check their understanding. Try not to repeat the same information without checking. Do not leave a question or a request without a response. It is easy to give up if children do not react first time, this can lead to poor habits of listening. Ensure children have a suitable environment for listening without distraction form other noise sources.

Useful resources BBC SCHOOLS LITERACY WEBSITE LITERACY CONNECTIONS WEBSITE- PARENTS ADULT LITERACY SKILLS