Unlock the secrets to supporting your child’s reading journey in the coming year
Around the globe, classrooms are embracing a Structured Literacy approach to foster effective reading skills. Parents play a pivotal role in this process, needing to be well-informed about the strategies that enhance learning at home.
Understanding the science behind reading, emphasising explicit, systematic, and cumulative teaching of phonics and reading skills is crucial. This research-backed approach consistently proves to be the most effective method in the realm of reading education.
How parents can support their child’s reading journey at home
- READ READ READ. Immerse your child in a natural reading environment at home and lead by example – make reading a daily habit. When your child sees you engrossed in a book, they are more likely to develop a love for reading themselves.
- Create an enriching reading environment. Go beyond school-assigned readers. Fill your home with a variety of interesting reading materials that cater to your child’s interests. Aim to cultivate a lifelong love for reading.
- Choose appropriate books. Allow your child the freedom to select books based on their interests. Provide them with a range of reading materials, including digital options such as apps and e-books, to engage them in the world of reading.
- Establish a bedtime reading routine. Make nightly bedtime routines special by incorporating story time. Reading aloud together not only fosters a connection but also provides an opportunity for shared enjoyment. Encourage your child to participate, even if it’s just reading a page or completing a rhyming word.
- Make reading fun. Enhance the joy of reading by taking trips to bookstores or libraries, creating a cozy reading nook at home, using expressive voices, and embracing the repetition of favourite books.
Strategies for reading school assigned books
- Avoid guessing words. When encountering unfamiliar words, encourage your child to point to each word and articulate individual sounds. Emphasise phonics over guessing from pictures. If a word is misread, guide them to decode it by sounding out and blending, followed by a re-read for fluency.
- Build vocabulary. Sound out words and discuss their meanings with your child, fostering the growth of their vocabulary.
- Check for understanding. Ensure comprehension by prompting your child to make predictions, discuss the story, and ask questions before, during, and after reading.
- Practice, but balance enjoyment. While practice is crucial, strike a balance between reading for school and reading for pleasure.
Reading offers a myriad of benefits, stimulating imagination, providing adventures, and unlocking a world of information. Cultivating a love for reading in your child is an invaluable gift that resonates with J.K. Rowling’s sentiment: “Wherever I am, if I’ve got a good book with me, I have a place I can go and be happy.”
Source: Caxton Network News