Importance of Reading with your children

The process of learning to read

There is no magical formula for learning to read. Children learn in their own time according to their own pace. There is no critical age when all children should have mastered reading. When children are learning to walk and talk, we accept different levels of progress – it is the same with learning to read and write. This does not imply, that meanwhile, the parent sits back doing nothing. Children need ongoing quality experiences with books. Providing a regular, reading routine at home assists children in their quest for reading success.

The media often overstates the need to teach phonics. Phonics is the relationship between letters and sounds and is not the only strategy children use when reading unfamiliar words. There are other effective ways to assist children identify unfamiliar words, which includes the practice of encouraging children to look for meaning. Prior to saying anything to assist the reader, allow sufficient wait time. Readers need to look around for clues. The aim is to move the reader towards independence as quickly as possible and that does mean getting out of the way. The reader has to look around to locate clues. Too often, their only clue is to look to the parent to fill the gap. Rescuing won’t help! Keep your eyes on the book and avoid eye contact. After waiting sufficient time, try saying:

• Read on and collect other clues.
• Go back to the beginning of the sentence and re-read what you read.
• Look at the illustration and see if there are clues there.
• What do you think would make sense here?

Avoid saying ‘sound it out’, or giving a clue that takes the child away from the text such as ‘[That word]…it is the colour of the sweater you were wearing last Tuesday’. If the word is an uncommon word or outside of the child’s vocabulary such as ‘camouflage’ drop it in, don’t have a vocabulary lesson. Keep the reading flowing because it is paramount that the reader comprehends the text. Keep on reading. The issue was not necessarily a reading issue but a vocabulary problem. If on the other hand, the child fills the gap with a word similar in meaning, for example, ‘hide’ instead of camouflage, celebrate. The child is telling you that he comprehends what is happening. That is what good readers do! Don’t stop and correct it! Avoid poking at words. Struggling readers often think the clue is in the word and fixate. The clue is in looking ahead, re-reading, and making sense of the text. For those words outside the reader’s vocabulary, for example, ‘camouflage’ you can always go back and talk about it at the end.

Some tips for home reading

• Establish a home reading routine. Read aloud with your children everyday. Ten minutes for each child around a book of his/her choice. If English is your second language, read in your home language. If you lack confidence in reading aloud, the fact that you are reading with your child is what matters. Talk about the illustrations and contribute where you can. Share your excitement for reading and this will be the model your child will adopt.
• The reader holds the book! There is a lot of power and control in the world of reading. The reader needs to have the power.
• During home reading time, turn off electronic devices and give each child ten minutes of your undivided attention.
• Before you read a book, set your child up for success. Reading is not a test! Reading time is only ten minutes so do some of the following: Keep the introduction short – one minute is enough. Talk about the illustrations and the title. Read the blurb and talk about the author, talk about any unusual words, read a page here and there as your child flicks through the book, discuss the characters. This is a short introduction, not an interrogation. If the book is already a familiar one, then this step is unnecessary.
• If reading time is stressful, move the reading to a new location. Instead of sitting at the kitchen bench, move to the lounge room floor, or go outside and sit under a tree or take the books to the local coffee shop.
• Find a reading time that works for your family. Limit the time and set the timer if reading in the past has always been difficult. It is better to have an enjoyable 10 minutes than a laborious 30 minutes where everyone is left feeling frustrated.
• At the end of the 10 minutes, ask questions that encourage discussion, for example: What was your favourite part? Tell me about the characters. What do you think will happen next? What did you think about that setting? What do like/ dislike about this book? There is no need to interrogate the reader. Make it a conversation as you would in a book club.
• Encourage your child to read independently. A bedside light is one of the best enticements for your child to read before going to sleep. After the 10 minutes of reading with you, the child can elect to continue reading independently.
• The less you interrupt the 10 minutes of reading, the more you are supporting the readers independence, resilience and confidence. Zip your lips, monitor the miscues, and listen as your child reads.
• Avoid judging your child’s reading with words such as: ‘good’, ‘excellent’ or ‘getting better’. Instead say things about the strategies your child uses when reading such as: ‘I like how you read on when you came to that difficult word.’ ‘I like how you changed your voice to be the voice of the character in the story’. ‘I noticed that you reread the bit that did not make sense.’
• If you child is reading independently and has reached the level of chapter books, it is not necessary for you to read aloud together any more. Your job is done. That is not to say, you cannot continue to share reading time because it is what you love to do as a family or that you sit and read silently together or that you talk about the books your child is reading because you are interested in his reading choices. Readers read differently in their heads as compared to reading aloud.
• Visit the local library — make it a family ritual on a set day every week. Let your children select their books while you select books you are interested in reading. Not every book has to be read cover to cover. Your child might select books based on illustrations or factual information about a topic of interest.
• Independent readers pick and choose what they read. They are entitled to read some and reject others. They are entitled to not complete books because they are boring. Readers make choices.
• Model what it means to be an enthusiastic reader. Create a home of readers where everyone reads – It is just what we do in this house! Talk about what you have read. Read aloud what makes you laugh and share it with your child .