How to support your child in reading at

home

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island”

Walt Disney

Kim Gordon 2014

In this booklet…

Tips for great reading at home page 3

Talking around the book page 4

Getting to grips with phonics page 5

The reading diary page 6

Support from school page 7

Why is reading SO important?

Reading is so important because it strengthens the brain and improves children’s opportunities in life. By reading, children also learn more vocabulary, develop their imagination, it helps them gain better general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures. The benefits of reading are endless. If children learn to read well they will do better in all other subjects…

What difference could I make as a parent?

The short answer is: a lot! Parents are by far the most important educators in a child’s life and it’s never too young for a child to start, even if you’re only reading with your child for ten minutes a day.

Tips for great reading at home

1. Find a quiet place – set some time aside with no distractions, 10 – 15 minutes a day.

2. Make reading enjoyable – try not to pressure your child, praise them when they are reading well. Be positive – If your child is stuck, don’t be frustrated…this is a natural part of learning how to read. Help them by NOT telling them the word but asking them to sound the word out or use the pictures to help them.

3. Variation – read different things: books, websites, magazines, newspapers, comics, bus timetables, labels in supermarkets, Poem of the Week on the school website. The list is endless!

4. Talk, talk, talk – talking to your child helps them to learn new words. Talking about the book before and after reading will help them to really understand what is in the book.

5. Ask questions – ask your child questions about what they are reading.

6. Read to your child – children love to hear their parents read to them. Make time before bed for a story.

7. Share the passion - If children see their parent enjoying reading, they will want to enjoy it too!

8. Storytelling – Stories don’t just come from books. Tell them stories about when you were little or stories your parents told you…

9. Take turns – bring characters in fiction books alive by you and your child giving them interesting voices.

10. Library – come and enjoy all of our wonderful books in the school library.

Talking around the book

Talking about books is important. Questions are great for starting conversations. There are lots of different questions you can ask about language, characters, settings, events, layout, themes and many more. Here are some examples:

Getting to grips with phonics

Phonics is the way that all schools teach your child to read and write.

The alphabet contains only 26 letters – a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h… We call them by their letter names. When we learn in phonics, we learn the sounds. If you want to listen to the sounds type ’44 phonemes’ into www.youtube.com and you can listen to how people pronounce each one.

The first step in phonics is learning the sounds. Once your child is learning the sounds, they can blend them together to read words. They start with smaller words and as they become more confident with their sounds, they begin to read longer words. It is really important to help your child to push the sounds together (blending). 

The reading diaryWhen you have read with your child it’s great to write a short note in their reading diary. Then the adults who read with your child in school know what they have done really well in and what they need more help with. The more home and school talk the more we’ll be able to support your child in their progress.

Sometimes books, which are a little too easy for your child or ones that they have read before will be sent home. This is because they give your child confidence and raises their self-esteem when it comes to reading. They can also focus on expression and fluency. Here are some words you might see in the reading diary or want to use yourself:

Comprehension – understanding what you are reading.Expression – making your voice sound interesting for the listener. This may be changing pitch, tone, volume or rhythm.Fluency – when the reading is smooth and quick enough, pauses are made at commas and full stops. Punctuation – full stops, commas, exclamation marks, question marks, speech marks…Sounding-out – saying the different sounds you can see in a word, this helps you with words that you haven’t learnt yet. c-oi-nBlending – blending (or pushing) the sounds together smoothly using your voice. Use blending after you have sounded-out the word out. Tricky word – a word that cannot be sounded-out, like: one, people, was, said. These words must be learnt by heart.Non-fiction – these books are true and are about real things, people, places, events. We get information from non-fiction books. Fiction – Stories that are made-up and are not true.

Support from school

Here’s a list of some top books that your child may love!The truth about Forever by Sarah DessenMini Shopaholic by Sophie KinsellaGoodnight Mr Tom by Michelle MagorianThe curious Incident of the Dog at Night-Time by Mark HaddonThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark TwainStig of the Dump by Clive KingCharlotte’s Web by EB WhiteThe Family from One-End Street by Eve GarnettThe Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline WilsonMatilda by Roald DahlTom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa PearceKensuke’s Kingdom by Michael MorpurgoThe Phantom Tollbooth by Norton JusterThe Narnia Books by CS LewisHarry Potter Series by JK RowlingThe Borrowers by Mary NortonUncle Montague’s Tales of Terror by Chris PriestlyThe Lionboy Trilogy by Zizou CorderSkellig by Davis AlmondHis Dark materials by Philip PullmanThe Hunger Games Series by Suzanne CollinsThe Golden Compass by Philip PullmanElla Enchanted by Gail Carson LevineThe Witches by Roald DahlNumber the Stars by Lois Lowry

You can make an appointment to meet your child’s teacher. Teachers are always full of ideas on how you can help your child to read at home. You can also come to see me, Kim Gordon. I am always more than happy to answer any questions you may have or give you some extra ideas. If it’s a weekend and you need some support, e-mail me at: