1. Mearns Primary Reading Guidance for Parents

2. Reading aloud to your child Research has shown that reading aloud to children of all ages helps them to develop their writing skills. This is because it helps pupils to develop their knowledge of language and story structure. It also provides them with a greater range of ideas which they can use in their own writing, and gives them access to texts that may be too complex for them to read alone. At Mearns Primary, we regularly read books aloud to pupils from Nursery to P7, and we would encourage parents to continue enjoying the pleasure of sharing stories, even after your child has become an independent reader.

3. Fostering a love of reading It is also valuable for children to see adults enjoying reading themselves. Showing your child that you enjoy reading a book or newspaper yourself can help them to see the purpose of reading, and encourage them to become a reader. Other ways to engage children as readers include listening to audio books, visiting the library or a book shop to choose their own texts and sharing books with their siblings. Reading should never be a chore. Helping your child to develop a love of reading now will help them to develop as independent readers as they get older.

4. Early Level Your child will be starting to read and enjoy sharing books. The following guidance is designed to help you support your child with reading at home. The suggestions are not designed to be used every time you read together, but to give you an idea of what skills your child needs to develop.

5. Phonics and other reading strategies Your child should be encouraged to use their phonic skills (sounding out and blending) as the main approach when reading. In the texts that your child will be bringing home, they will also come across ‘tricky words’. These are keywords which cannot be sounded out, and therefore need to be learnt as sight vocabulary.

6. What to expect of your child at this stage? Your child may: Be able to blend together simple CVC words (consonant, vowel, consonant e.g. cat, hen, pin) Begin to learn and use the 42 sounds that are used in the English language Recognise tricky words by sight, both within a text and in isolation

7. Reading skills and response to texts You can also help your child by encouraging them to: Locate the title, author and illustrator Open the front cover Turn pages appropriately Follow the print from left to right and from top to bottom Make predictions about the story Point to the words as they say them Use the pictures to tell the story

8. Environmental Print Environmental print is the print of everyday life. It's the name given to the print that appears in signs, labels, and logos and helps bridge the connection between letters and first efforts to read. You can take advantage of all this print by using it in ways to talk about letters, words, and print. Here are some ideas: Food packaging is often interesting and colourful. Ask your child to find the first letter of their name on product labels Choose a simple sign to focus on during a car trip (e.g. stop sign, pedestrian crossing, one way). Encourage your child to count the number of signs seen along the way, pointing out the different sounds Use a digital camera to take pictures of different signs (e.g. speed limit, stop, do not enter, exit.) Use these pictures to make a small book for your child to read.

9. First Level Your child is now beginning to read more confidently, and can access books and texts of increasing length and complexity in terms of sentence structures. The following guidance is designed to help you support your child with reading at home. The suggestions are not designed to be used every time you read together, but to give you an idea of what skills your child needs to develop.

10. Phonics and other reading strategies Your child should be encouraged to use their phonic skills as the main approach when reading, where appropriate. However, when tackling unfamiliar words, they should be beginning to use other strategies to help them. You may need to prompt them to use an appropriate strategy, such as: Use knowledge of familiar letter patterns (e.g. ‘-ing’, ‘-ed’) Notice words within a word (e.g. read became as be and came) Read ahead to make a sensible guess within the context of the sentence Re-read a sentence to self correct

11. What to expect of your child at this stage? Your child may: Be able to blend words of increasing complexity Have some experience in reading words of multiple syllables (e.g. picnic, bedroom, caterpillar) Use the 42 sounds of the English language to read and write words Recognise a greater number of tricky words by sight

12. Reading skills and response to texts You can also help your child by encouraging them to: Use punctuation to read more fluently Re-read a section to improve fluency Use expression when they can (e.g. changing voice for speech) Read quietly on their own sometimes, before reading aloud Retell the events in a story sequence Predict what they think will happen next in a text, giving reasons for their choices

13. Reading skills and response to texts (cont.) Offer opinions about why characters behave in a certain way Read a variety of texts, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry Answer questions about what they have read to show their understanding, looking back to find the answers if necessary

14. Second Level Your child is now able to read more confidently and independently. However, even though your child may spend more time reading quietly to themselves, parents can still have an important role in helping them to continue developing their reading skills.

15. Reading skills and response to texts You can help your child by: Encouraging your child to read at home Listening whilst your child reads Keeping reading sessions short and fun Reading a book aloud at the same time as your child, modelling expression and fluency Sharing books, reading sections each, especially if your child wants to tackle a more difficult text Recapping any words that your child found difficult Giving lots of praise and encouragement Discussing what has been read

16. Reluctant readers Some children do not find reading easy. They may struggle to read words or to understand meaning. Children develop at different rates, and it may be that in time and with appropriate support your child will become an accomplished reader. You can encourage your child to read by: Following their interests. Whatever interests them, there will be reading material available which will grab their attention. Asking them to read a recipe or some information from a newspaper – all reading helps! Reading to them in a relaxed, cosy setting Sharing reading – you read a page and ask your child to read a page. Allowing your child to read books which are easy to build confidence, and gradually increasing the level of challenge when your child is ready. Letting your child see you reading and enjoying books.