"Keep it Simple, Sweetie" at Reading Time

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