Do parents really know how to read to their kids to maximise
their learning?
I think the only reason I know these things are because I
was a primary school teacher and I have since read every parenting book I can
get my hands on.
There are even different types of reading. There is the
reading just for pleasure. Your kids reading or you reading to them, but this
type of reading involves getting them into the story and using their
imagination. With this type of reading you don’t worry about teaching them the
words or even pointing to them. The idea is to be as entertaining as possible
and teach them to love books and stories.
But there is also the type of reading where you are trying
to teach them to read for themselves. This is known in the classroom as guided
reading and in a lot of ways is a really boring way to read books and actually
most of the books are boring too. But it needs to be done, so lets do it as
well as we can.
Before you start;
Prepare a suitable area for your reading
Remove all distraction including other kids
Give your child your undivided attention for this time in
your day.
Orientation to the text;
Look at the book;
Are there any words they already know?
Are there words they don’t know, talk about these.
Discuss the cover, the title and the authors name
Talk about the topic of the book, what might it be about?
Look at the pictures on each of the pages, picture clues are
an important skill in learning to read, teach your kids how to use picture clues.
Reading the text;
Read the title page together.
Read the whole book for your child
Point to each word as you say it.
Ask them to read one page and you read the next.
Don’t dwell on words they can not read, try to get them to
sound it out but stay positive. Give them a lot of assurance that they are
doing well.
Read it through a few times, first with a lot of help, then
less as they get to know it.
Talk about which words rhyme or start with the same letter.
MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD IS POINTING TO THE WORDS AS THEY SAY
THEM. Kids will learn the book off by heart, this is fine but they need to be
looking at the words as they read, so they can also learn the word off by heart
and can use it in other situations.
When you are finished, extend them by;
Asking them what might have happened next after the story
finished.
Ask them what happened in the story in their own words.
Ask them to draw a picture that relates to the book
Ask them to write down the words that they remember from the
story
Give them a lot of occasions to use and see the words they
have learnt from their books.
Most kids start guided reading when they start
school. I don’t think there is anything wrong with exposing pre-primary kids to
this type of reading. I don’t think you should be stressed out about it or read like this all the time, but exposing you kids to this kind of reading can be great if done in a positive
way.
xx
