Steps to Teach Reading to Young Children

Practical Ideas to Support Phonics Development

21 January 2018| The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

Today we will cover:

Stages of learning to read

Ways in which you can help

Practical Activities

3 21 January 2018| The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

Steps to Reading

Early stages of reading

4 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• Children will first express an interest in books. • They will look at books independently or request stories from an adult. • They may turn the pages of a book and look at pictures.

Steps to Reading

Maximise excitement

5 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• When children express an interest in books, maximise on this. o Spend time reading with them o Praise them for their interest in books o Build role-play ideas linked to stories o Make reading a fun experience – use silly voices, etc

Steps to Reading

The Front Cover

6 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• Reading is so much more than simply reading the words in the book.

• Before opening the book, children should spend time discussing the book using the front cover. o What do you think the story is about? Why? o What might happen in the story? o Discuss children’s experiences linked to the front cover. o Can you find the title and author?

Steps to Reading

Looking at the Pictures

7 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• When you open the book, begin by looking at the pictures. o What is happening in the picture? o Can they identify the characters? o How are the characters feeling? o Can they relate to what is happening? o Do they know any information about the things in the picture? o Give children time to talk about the pictures and share their ideas.

o Video Clip – 0.48

Steps to Reading

Magic pointing finger

8 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• Give children a special pointing finger.

• They can follow the sounds and words with their special finger.

• The impact of giving children props is very effective and keeps them engaged.

Steps to Reading

Phonics – Decoding – sound it out

9 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• When children begin to read the words, they will apply their phonics knowledge.

• Their knowledge of sounds will differ depending on their age and ability, but you can find out more about Letters and Sounds here.

• Encourage children to sound out the words.

Steps to Reading

Sound Buttons - Blending

10 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• Once children have a secure knowledge of a few simple sounds they begin to blend 2 letter words.

Sound Buttons • Sound buttons are placed under each sound in the word to help children

recognise each individual sound. • They press the sound buttons, pressing faster and faster until the word blends

together. • Video

i t t

Steps to Reading

Chunking

11 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• Words of more than 1 syllable can be intimidating for children.

• Teach children to chunk a word to make it manageable.

• Children will need help initially to know where to chunk the word.

• Video – 3.51

Steps to Reading

Try a different sound

12 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• When children reach Phase 3, 4 and 5 Phonics they will learn that the same letters can make different sounds.

• If the sentence doesn’t make sense using the first sound, try a different sound.

Steps to Reading

Tricky Words

13 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• We hate tricky words because they always try to trick us.

• There isn’t a way to decode the words, they need to learn them.

• There words include:

The to no I go She he be we they

Steps to Reading

Using the Pictures

14 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• When children get stuck they are encouraged to use all strategies possible to help them decode the words.

• When children begin to read, you will notice they often guess what words say using the pictures.

• While we encourage them to read the words, when they are stuck, we may ask them what clues they can find in the picture to help them.

Steps to Reading

Does it make sense?

15 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• When children read a word, ask them to check whether the word makes sense in the sentence.

• If not, what word would make sense?

Steps to Reading

Find the word

16 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• To ensure children can recognise the words they have read and are not simple guessing, ask them to point to certain words.

• This also helps to verify understanding.

• Examples

o Point to the word that describes the character. o Point to the word that explains how the character feels. o Find the word …

Steps to Reading

Comprehension

17 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• Comprehension is a very important aspect of reading.

• If children don’t understand what they read, there is no point in reading.

• In order to verify children’s understanding, you should ask them questions as you read the story.

• You can teach them how to find answers to the questions if they don’t know them already.

Steps to Reading

Comprehension – Questions

18 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

"Right There“ Questions found right in the text that ask students to find the one right answer located in one place as a word or a sentence in the passage. Example: Who is Frog's friend? Answer: Toad "Think and Search“ Questions based on the recall of facts that can be found directly in the text. Answers are typically found in more than one place, thus requiring students to "think" and "search" through the passage to find the answer. Example: Why was Frog sad? Answer: His friend was leaving. "Author and You“ Questions require students to use what they already know, with what they have learned from reading the text. Student's must understand the text and relate it to their prior knowledge before answering the question. Example: How do think Frog felt when he found Toad? Answer: I think that Frog felt happy because he had not seen Toad in a long time. I feel happy when I get to see my friend who lives far away. "On Your Own“ Questions are answered based on a students prior knowledge and experiences. Reading the text may not be helpful to them when answering this type of question. Example: How would you feel if your best friend moved away? Answer: I would feel very sad if my best friend moved away because I would miss her.

Steps to Reading

Comprehension – Summary

19 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• A great way to check comprehension is to ask students to summarise what they have read. o What was the main idea of the story? o Describe the main characters? o Tell me what happened in the story? o Tell me what happened at the beginning? Middle? End? o Explain how the character felt at different points of the story?

Comprehension – Story Structure

• When reading, children should identify the story structure o Characters o Setting o Events o Problem o resolution

Steps to Reading

Comprehension – Taught Strategies

20 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• Children are not automatically able to use these skills to read, summarise, answer questions and make suggestions about a text.

• They are strategies that children need to be taught.

• They then need to be able to practise these skills as often as possible.

Steps to Reading

Recommended Texts

21 27 February 2018 | The British School of Beijing, Shunyi

• Julia Donaldson Songbirds • Oxford Reading Tree Floppy Phonics • Big Cat Phonics Pink Level (beginners) • Big Cat Phonics Red Level (Slightly more advanced) • Big Cat Phonics Yellow Level (More advanced again)

Thank you.

www.britishschool.org.cn/shunyi