Literacy News 

Learning to read is a very complex process. If your child is learning to play an instrument or participating in a sport, they will inevitably be involved in practice. Yet, it’s easy to forget that kids also need practice at reading to become fluent and confident.

 

There are lots of strategies that we, as adult readers, use without thinking about it when we come across an unfamiliar word. These might include looking for a part of the word we recognise, thinking about what the word might mean in the context and using any visuals, such as pictures and diagrams to help us. We teach students these same things to help them to make sense of what they read.

 

When you are reading with your child and he or she comes across an unknown word, there are a number of things that you can do to prompt them. Note that the strategies below do not involve ‘guessing’. Guessing implies pulling an answer out of thin air, whereas these ideas use the cues that adult readers would to work out words in the context of what is being read.

Helping your child work out difficult words

When your child begins to read to you, they will often have difficulty with long or tricky words. It is important to give your child time to work out difficult words themselves. This helps develop their reading skills. You might, however, help them if they are stuck by asking questions like these:

  • Look at the picture. What word makes sense?
  • Look at the picture. What object can you see in the picture that might start with that letter?
  • What letter (or letters) does the word start with? What sound does that letter (or letters) make?
  • What letters are in the middle of the word? What sound do these letters make?
  • What letter (or letters) does the word end with? What sound does that letter (or letters) make?
  • Can you put those sounds together to make a word?

Another good strategy is to ask your child how they worked out the word. This helps reinforce reading strategies they learn from you and from school.

Taken from Victorian Department of Education and Training website: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/

 

 

Most importantly, reading together should be enjoyable and relaxing. 

 

As always, if you’d like further information about our literacy programs, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Annie Facchinetti

Literacy Leader