Supporting Reading at Home
As a parent, you are your child's first and most important teacher. When you support your child learn to read, you are opening the door to a world of books and learning.
Reading together at home is one of the easiest but most important ways in which you can help your child. As you share books you are helping improve your child’s reading skills and also showing them how important and enjoyable reading is.
We want children to be able to:
* see reading as an enjoyable activity, as well as a means of learning through finding things out.
* have the reading skills necessary to read a range of text types for pleasure and for information.
* be confident and competent readers, through experiencing a wide range of reading events.
Reading can be a family activity. Spending time enjoying word games, stories, and books will help your child to:
* gather information and learn about the world.
* learn how stories and books work – that they have beginnings, endings, characters, and themes.
* build a rich vocabulary by reading and talking about new words.
* learn how to listen and how to think about stories that are read aloud.
* learn the sounds of language and language patterns.
* fall in love with books.
Top Tips for Reading at Home:
* Read every day – make reading a priority in your home routine.
* Keep sessions relaxed – find a comfortable place where you and your child can settle down.
* Give lots of praise for your child’s effort. The skills of reading can be difficult to master so it is important that all reading sessions are a positive experience for them.
* Talk about the book before you begin to read – look at the front cover, and the pictures (if any) and ask your child to think about or make a prediction of what the book may be about.
* Ask questions as your child read their book to check your child’s understanding (see examples of questions below).
* Talk about the book afterwards – did your child enjoy it? Why? What was your favourite part?
* If your child struggles over a particular word encourage them to ‘spot the Special Friends’ (two or three letters which make one sound e.g. sh, th, ay, igh, air), ‘Fred talk’ (say the sounds), ‘read the word’ (blend the sounds together).
* Be a good model for your children – let them see you reading – anything and everything – newspapers, magazines, catalogues, books etc. – let them know that reading is a valuable and enjoyable skill.
* Tell them about a book or story you liked when you were a child. You may still be able to find a copy of it to share with them.
* Don’t give up on the bedtime story, even if your child is a good reader.
Helpful questions to ask children when reading
Children’s understanding of what they have read is the key to success and enjoyment of reading. It allows children to challenge ideas, collect a wide range of vocabulary and become creative writers too. Below are some example questions that you may ask your child before, during or after they have read.
BoomReader
Please record your child’s reading at home on Boom Reader. You will receive a personal log in from your class’s teacher. Please add the title of the book (a book from home and any books they are reading for pleasure) and a comment about how your child got on. Please help your child become a reading hero!
To download the app, simply search Boomreader Parent in your app store or visit the website below to access the web version. BoomReader – Parent Log In Page
Child Log In
As your child gets older, they may like to begin logging in to the pupil boom hub to begin logging their own reading experiences. They can add the title of the book, add a comment, make a recommendation by adding a book review, create their own reading avatar and collect gems for their reading efforts.