Promoting Reading at Home
St Paul's CE Primary School
Promoting Reading at Home This leaflet clearly sets out ways in which you can: • support your child’s reading at home. • promote reading at home.
Inspiring Children to Create a Better Christian World
St Paul’s CE Primary School Promoting Reading at Home At St Paul’s we strongly believe that learning to read is a crucial part of a child’s education and skill development, supporting all future learning. Research also shows that children whose families read together are home are much more likely to become successful, confident and independent readers. We are constantly seeking ways in which to encourage more pupils to read at home more frequently and to share books with adults. At the moment, we would ideally like all children to read to or with (depending on age and ability) an adult three times a week. However, this term we are starting to tally up the amount of times each child reads with or to an adult. When the pupil reaches a certain number of times (again depending on your child’s age and ability), they will be awarded in assembly and given a free book to demonstrate an appreciation of their hard work. The number of times they read continues to be added up, so they may be rewarded more than once if they consistently read frequently at home. Please ensure you (or another adult or older brother or sister) signs and comments in your child’s reading record with the date that they have read with you. This is we can keep a tally at school. Remember reading is a life long skill and the more that your child practices now, the easier it will be for them to continue to learn and progress with this skill.
Top Tips for Reading at Home
• Read anything and everything with your child; there are words all around – signs, supermarkets, posters, packets, television and the internet. • Let your child see you reading for pleasure – even the newspaper, they will want to copy what they see you doing. • Set aside a quiet time with no distractions. Ten to fifteen minutes is usually long enough. If you have more than one child, may be read altogether or have a different time/night for each child. • Make reading an enjoyable experience. Sit next to your child so that you can see exactly what they are reading. Try not to pressurise your child if he or she is reluctant. If your child loses interest then do something else and come back to reading later. • If your child misreads a word do not interpret immediately. Instead allow them the chance to correct themselves. It is better to tell a child some unknown words to maintain the flow and encourage confidence. • Don’t say ‘No that’s wrong,’ but ‘Let’s read it together’ and point to the words as you say them. • Boost your child’s confidence with constant praise for even the smallest achievement. • Do not cover pictures in their books and expect children to only use the words. The illustrations are there for a reason and actively support reading development. • Talk about the book before, during and after they have read it. Ask questions – see the next page for ideas about the kinds of questions to ask. Talking about a book gives you an idea as to how well your child has understood the book they have read. It will also help your child to develop good comprehension skills. • At the end of the sessions write a small comment on how your child did in their Reading Record Book. You could mention what they did well and what they need to work on. Let your child know what you are writing. • Try to read with your child on most school days. “Little and often’ is best. • Enjoy what you do together and make reading a positive experience for your child.
Reading with your Child Some questions to ask your child while reading together. • Look at the front cover. about?
What could the book be
• Who is the author? • What is an illustrator? What do they do? • What does that word mean? Read the words around it to help work it out? (context) • How can read a word you are stuck on? Can you sound it out and blend the sounds together to make the word? Can you look for clues in the picture? Can you read the rest of the sentence to hear which word would make sense? • Who are the main characters? • What do you think will happen next? What do you think will happen at the end? • How do you think the characters feel? Why? How would you feel in that situation? • Who is your favourite character? Why? • What was your favourite part? Why? • How would you describe this book to a friend? • Is there a hidden message in the story? What is it? • Can you retell the story in your own words? • Do you like how the story ended? Can you think of another way the book could have ended?
Promoting Reading at Home This leaflet clearly sets out ways in which you can: • support your child’s reading at home. • promote reading at home.
Inspiring Children to Create a Better Christian World
St Paul’s CE Primary School Promoting Reading at Home At St Paul’s we strongly believe that learning to read is a crucial part of a child’s education and skill development, supporting all future learning. Research also shows that children whose families read together are home are much more likely to become successful, confident and independent readers. We are constantly seeking ways in which to encourage more pupils to read at home more frequently and to share books with adults. At the moment, we would ideally like all children to read to or with (depending on age and ability) an adult three times a week. However, this term we are starting to tally up the amount of times each child reads with or to an adult. When the pupil reaches a certain number of times (again depending on your child’s age and ability), they will be awarded in assembly and given a free book to demonstrate an appreciation of their hard work. The number of times they read continues to be added up, so they may be rewarded more than once if they consistently read frequently at home. Please ensure you (or another adult or older brother or sister) signs and comments in your child’s reading record with the date that they have read with you. This is we can keep a tally at school. Remember reading is a life long skill and the more that your child practices now, the easier it will be for them to continue to learn and progress with this skill.
Top Tips for Reading at Home
• Read anything and everything with your child; there are words all around – signs, supermarkets, posters, packets, television and the internet. • Let your child see you reading for pleasure – even the newspaper, they will want to copy what they see you doing. • Set aside a quiet time with no distractions. Ten to fifteen minutes is usually long enough. If you have more than one child, may be read altogether or have a different time/night for each child. • Make reading an enjoyable experience. Sit next to your child so that you can see exactly what they are reading. Try not to pressurise your child if he or she is reluctant. If your child loses interest then do something else and come back to reading later. • If your child misreads a word do not interpret immediately. Instead allow them the chance to correct themselves. It is better to tell a child some unknown words to maintain the flow and encourage confidence. • Don’t say ‘No that’s wrong,’ but ‘Let’s read it together’ and point to the words as you say them. • Boost your child’s confidence with constant praise for even the smallest achievement. • Do not cover pictures in their books and expect children to only use the words. The illustrations are there for a reason and actively support reading development. • Talk about the book before, during and after they have read it. Ask questions – see the next page for ideas about the kinds of questions to ask. Talking about a book gives you an idea as to how well your child has understood the book they have read. It will also help your child to develop good comprehension skills. • At the end of the sessions write a small comment on how your child did in their Reading Record Book. You could mention what they did well and what they need to work on. Let your child know what you are writing. • Try to read with your child on most school days. “Little and often’ is best. • Enjoy what you do together and make reading a positive experience for your child.
Reading with your Child Some questions to ask your child while reading together. • Look at the front cover. about?
What could the book be
• Who is the author? • What is an illustrator? What do they do? • What does that word mean? Read the words around it to help work it out? (context) • How can read a word you are stuck on? Can you sound it out and blend the sounds together to make the word? Can you look for clues in the picture? Can you read the rest of the sentence to hear which word would make sense? • Who are the main characters? • What do you think will happen next? What do you think will happen at the end? • How do you think the characters feel? Why? How would you feel in that situation? • Who is your favourite character? Why? • What was your favourite part? Why? • How would you describe this book to a friend? • Is there a hidden message in the story? What is it? • Can you retell the story in your own words? • Do you like how the story ended? Can you think of another way the book could have ended?
