- They are read to.
- They are read with.
- They read independently.
You can do all these things at home, with or without specially designed resources.
Reading to your child.
When you read to your child the focus should only be on the content and the message.
Discuss the story and make predictions about what might happen. Talk about techniques the author/illustrator has used to enhance the story. Get audio books from the public library play them while your children build Lego, draw pictures etc etc. Hearing well written texts helps them read them later on.
* We are never too old to enjoy a well written picture book. These texts often have more complex ideas and language than easy chapter books.*
* We are never too old to enjoy a well written picture book. These texts often have more complex ideas and language than easy chapter books.*
You should choose material that you both enjoy. You don't just have to read books. Why not try reading some of these things too.
- recipes
- instructions
- letters
- newspapers
- websites
- magazines
- jokes
Reading with your child.
When you engage in this task you will be expecting your child to do the job of reading the message. The difficulty you may experience is finding material that your child can read. It is not a good idea to give your child material they find very difficult. Usually public libraries are a great source of material for all levels and interests, but when that resource is unavailable you may need to be inventive.
- Write some simple stories based on your experiences. When you do this use your child's name often. eg Anna and Mum went on the bus. Anna sat by Mum. She saw a dog.When you are writing for very early readers each sentence should be on a separate page. You and your child should illustrate each sentence making sure that the picture gives a clue to the text.
- Write captions for photographs - what a great reason to get those photo albums up to date!
- Make diagrams and put basic labels on them.
- Write sentences on a strip of paper. Once your child is confident reading the sentence cut it up and play games putting it back together. Your child may find having a copy of the sentence that they can refer to useful. Children love it if you have a turn and get it wrong so they can be "the expert" and fix it up. Make the sentence with one word turned over and ask your child to work out what the word is. When they have guessed you can ask things like, "what would that word look like?" etc. before they get to check.
Reading independently
This is all about giving your child the message that they can read - at whatever level - and giving them the time to do so (or to make them if they are not so keen!). If your child is a very early reader they should still be expected to spend time looking at books, magazines or other reading material. This helps to motivate them to learn to read the text.
Engage in your own independent reading in front of your children. Refuse to do things because you’re at a good place in your book – prove that it is a lifelong skill / pleasurable activity!
Set aside a family silent reading time.
