READING

Helping your child at home.

• Ideally, read with your child at least 3 times a week. We know that children who read regularly to an adult at home, make greater and quicker progress in the development of their reading and comprehension skills.  Therefore, any time you can spend practising reading with your child will provide valuable support to their learning.
• Choose a quiet time.  Little and often!
• There is a sticker in your child’s reading diary which shows what colour band your child is working on.  Use this to see what the expectations are at their band level.
• At first, share the book with your child, you could read one page and they could read another.
• If your child has just started to read, encourage them to point to the words.
• Children re-reading their books is important for them to gain a bank of familiar words.
• Always talk to your child about the book; about the pictures, the characters, how they think the story will end, and their favourite part.
• Make reading an enjoyable experience. Try not to pressurise if your child is reluctant. If your child loses interest, then do something else.
• Write in the reading record every time you read even if it’s just a smiley face.  This signals to us you have shared the book.
• Visit the library and take out different types of books, like information books, poetry books, joke books, comics etc.

Read to your child

Sharing stories with your child has many benefits.

• Reading books ensures that your child is exposed to vocabulary on different topics, which means they hear words or phrases which they may not hear in their day to day lives.

• It promotes a longer attention span.

• It builds listening skills and imagination.

• It helps children to understand different topics about the world and everyday life.

• Books teach your child about relationships. When you read to your child, they learn to understand cause and effect. They learn the consequences of actions, and the basics of what is right and wrong.

• For children who speak more than one language, reading is an easy way to help their language skills and is important to develop their fluency.