Reading

Useful strategies to use when reading with your child at home.

Reading is a very complex task Reading is actually thinking cued by the text. How do we help children become good thinking readers? We need to teach them the range of information they need to use to make meaning. To make meaning readers apply: y y y Previous experience & understanding of the topic (Meaning) Knowledge of how our language is spoken (Structure) Knowledge of letters & sounds, how they are represented in print & how they work together (Visual/graphophonic)

Before reading to or hearing your child read: y Talk to them about what they are going to read-activate prior knowledge (Getting Knowledge Ready) y y y Ask them to make predictions about what the book may be about You may take a walk through the book, particularly if your child is a beginning reader Talk about some of the words you might expect to see or walk through the book to find any challenging words that you might come across (Vocab)

The 3 Ps- Pause, Prompt, Praise

PAUSE: When your child is reading and is unsure of what the next word is, it is important to: Wait before responding giving your child time to try & work out what the word might be. PROMPT: Encourage your child to look at the picture & ask them: *What word might make sense? * Does it sound right? * What does it start with? What letters might I need to see? * To reread the sentence again to make meaning PRAISE: At all times it is important that children are praised & encouraged for their attempts! Eg. I like the way.. Well done when you You thought very carefully..

Compiled for NMR Schools 2011 by Kate Story with Marg Sneddon and Julie Cooke

Top Ten Reading and Literacy Tips

1.Read aloud with and to your child every day Experts recommend 30 minutes a day. Pick books that are too long or difficult for your child to read on their own. Choose genres that your child prefers and that you can talk about together.

2. Create a print rich home environment Include both books (and books on tape/CD or e books) and writing materials. Include newspapers and child-oriented versions of popular magazines (e.g. National Geographic for Kids.) Set aside a special reading area in your home and make sure everyone uses it.

3. Model reading and writing Make use of the family reading area on your own. Let your child see you reading for work or to learn something Let your child see you reading for pleasure.

4. Read and write with your children in your home language Let your child see you reading and writing in the language(s) which are most comfortable to you. Stock your home library with books in English and books in your home language. Let your child read at home for fun in whichever language they prefer

5. Cook with your child to develop literacy Read recipes together. Read the labels on ingredients together. Make a family cookbook of favorite recipes.

6. Explore books together Ask your child questions. Point out new vocabulary and ideas. Explore the characters motivations and relate them to your familys life

7. Tell stories together Talk together about your family history. Look at old vacation photos and discuss your memories of the trip. Record your storytelling or make photo stories on the computer.

8. Write with your child Provide lots of writing materials and papers. Encourage your child to draw and write on her own. Encourage your child to write thank you notes or emails to grandparents, make to do lists, write signs such as Jacks room keep out!

9. Communicate regularly with your childs teacher about his literacy development Find out what is happening at school. Ask questions about your child and what you can do to support her. Volunteer and/or observe in your childs classroom

10. Visit the library or bookstore often Encourage your child to get her own library card. Look together at bookstore catalogues or junk mail. Take advantage of library programs such as family book clubs or holiday programs at local libraries and bookstores. Find out who are your childs favorite authors and genres and go with him to the library in search of interesting books together Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/ten-reading-and-literacy-tips-for-parents-of-school-age-children3817097.html#ixzz1EIchlle2

Compiled for NMR Schools 2011 by Kate Story with Marg Sneddon and Julie Cooke

Some specific strategies to try at home when: - Reading to your child - Reading with your child - Listening to them read Beginning Readers: y Talk about texts such as title, front and back cover of book, title page, author as the person who writes the words, illustrator as the person who draws the pictures y Talk about the print and lay out of texts such as left to right, top to bottom directionality, the difference between a letter and word, spacing between words, sentences as a unit of print, sentences beginning with a capital letter and finishing with a full stop Talk about how to respect books such as turning a page, choosing a book, returning a book, caring for a book-in-a-bag at home Talk about how to be a good listener- Learning how to listen when someone is reading so that you can talk together about the text Make time for your child to see you and other family members reading- model to them what independent reading looks like at home. Make time for reading together. Talk about what might be going to happen in a story make predictions together before and during reading together Do picture walks through the text together Talk together at how looking at a picture can help to work out what the word might be

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Emergent Readers: y Talk about the patterns in texts, where words are repeated and how they sound y y Talk about making meaning and connecting what they are reading to what they already know Talk together about words in a context and out of context- common words they recognise during the reading of a text. Talk about where they have seen those words before. Use pictures for predictions Encourage rereading to monitor making sense of the text. Talk to them about rereading to have another go at a tricky word or reread the word, or goes back and rereads the phrase, or goes back and rereads the sentence Talk to them about how their reading sounds (fluency) Model and read together so that words flow together rather than one word at a time.

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Early Readers: y Make predictions together using the words and the pictures as clues y Talk about how we can use words we already know to figure out a new word analogy if you know late you can we work out gate Talk about what is happening as you read through the text- build up their stamina for holding n to the meaning as they read Uses chunking to figure out the base word within a big word or to figure out a longer word by breaking it up, not just sounding it out Retell the story together and discuss aspects of the story (who, what, when, where) Talk about, encourage and model how the text connects with other texts (Eg: Thats just like the story of)
Compiled for NMR Schools 2011 by Kate Story with Marg Sneddon and Julie Cooke

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Transitional Readers y Praise and recognise where and when they make self corrections as they read to fix up meaning- when it doesnt look right or sound right in the context y y y y y y Encourage them to do their own picture walk during independent reading time at home Get two copies of the same text so that you can read side by side together and then talk about the text Encourage the use of their prior knowledge before, during and after reading text- how what they read is connected to things they may already know Asks questions together before, during and after reading - about themselves, the author and the text. (Why did the author do that?) Discuss together the aspects of a story who, what, when, how After reading together identify the important events and ideas from the story and talk about why they were important to the text Recognise and praise when reading comes together to sound fluent and with expression Discuss how pictures can add to a deeper understanding of the text. Takes notice of the detail and how it adds to their thinking as they read (beyond the words)

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Fluent Readers: y Promote and read together a variety of genres and text types y y y Discuss and retell a story with significant details Talk about how the words of a text help to create pictures in your head as you read to help understand the text more deeply. These images deepen understanding of the text. Talk together about how sometimes not everything is written in a text and that sometimes things are left out but thinking about it you can put the missing pieces together- that as readers we make inferences from the text. We use prior knowledge and textual information to draw conclusions, makes critical judgements and form unique interpretations as we read. Eg: what does the author want you to think?

Fluent Readers- Extending: y Talk about and show how we uses text features such as blurbs, captions, labels, glossaries (etc) to access information in texts and develop deeper levels of understanding y y Scans text to identify key elements (eg key vocabulary, summary) Have discussions about the authors style, purpose and intent (including looking for bias and point of view) Makes connections to the text with the world around them and other texts

Compiled for NMR Schools 2011 by Kate Story with Marg Sneddon and Julie Cooke