Literacy News

Reading At Home with your Children

There has been an abundance of research showing that when children are read to from a very young age, that their ability to learn to read, understand new vocabulary, converse with others is enhanced immensely. It seems that before beginning school, reading together meant just that. It usually involved a parent reading a picture story book to a child and that child eventually being able to join in and read along.  At school, we also encourage this to continue.  Reading at home can look differently between year levels and different age groups and can even look different in each home.  In Years P-2, students are bringing home 'readers' to read with their parents. These readers are meant to be easy and are meant to be a tool to practise what the students already know.  We also encourage students to continue reading books that they love with their parents. You can also record these books and the readers in the reading log that students bring home.  In Years 3-6, students are encouraged to read books from home or the library.

Here's some tips on how to make reading at home an enjoyable experience:

P-2

Find a comfortable spot.

Have a quick look through the book before you sit with your child

Do a picture walk with your child

Read it to your child first, depending on their skill level  OR read it together, then have them read it to you.

Word Find…

Ask questions: E.g.  Does this book make you think of another book or movie? What do you think will happen on the next page? How do you think the characters are feeling?

3-6

Find a comfortable spot.

Have your child read one or two pages at a time, depending on the length of the book

If they are reluctant to read to you, have them read a page and then let them tell you about what they have read. The skills of summarising and paraphrasing are very important skills that help students come to a deeper understanding of what has been read.

Ask questions: E.g.  Does this book make you think of another book or movie? What do you think will happen on the next page? How do you think the characters are feeling? Why is the character behaving that way?