Literacy
Parents and Literacy Night
Each year at Vermont Primary School we run a program called Parents and Literacy (PAL). This is offered to parents who would like to learn how we teach reading and writing, and how you can help support your child’s learning at home and help in the classroom. The sessions are offered to parents of Foundation to Grade Six children. We also would like to invite the parents of our 4 Year old Kindergarten children.
Once again our Parents and Literacy Sessions (PAL) will be conducted over two nights. The sessions will be held on the following dates and times:
Tuesday 20th February 2024 6:30pm – 8:00pm (Reading + Assisting Children)
Tuesday 27th February 2024 6:30pm – 8:00pm (Writing + Assisting Children)
Please click on the link below to register your interest for these presentations. Click on this link to complete the details:
If you have any queries, please contact John Hoskin at Vermont Primary School John.Hoskin@education.vic.gov.au
Library
This week the Library opened for the first time this year and many of the classes enjoyed being able to borrow books again. A reminder to send Library bags to school with your child as they will not be able to borrow them if they don’t have one with them.
Reading at Home
Now that books are starting to come home and all students should be settling into their reading routine. Parents play a big role in supporting their child’s reading journey as they have the opportunity to have a positive influence on their attitudes towards reading and set them up for future reading success.
Below are some tips for home reading taken from the Primary English Teaching Association Australia.
- Establish a home reading routine. Read aloud with your children every day. 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.
- Before you read a book, set your child up for success. Reading is not a test! Reading time is only for a short period of time so do some of the following: Keep the introduction brief – 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 reading time, 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 your child’s reading time, the more you are supporting the reader's independence, resilience and confidence.
- 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 your 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.
- 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 .
Fortnightly Segments
Comprehension Question
A common question during Parent Teacher Interviews, is ‘How can I help improve my child’s comprehension?’ Each week we will include a couple of simple questions that you could ask your child that may help improve their comprehension or open up a conversation about the book they are reading.
This fortnight’s questions are:
What character in the book is most like you? What are the characteristics that you share?
Compared to other books you’ve read, how would you rate this one? Would you recommend it to someone else? Why or why not?
Does this book give you any ideas for a story that you could write?
Writing Challenge
If your child enjoys their writing and is keen to write for enjoyment at home, below is a prompt that you could ask your child to write about.
You’re trapped on a desert island with only the things in your school bag. What do you do?