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 School is back and, for most children, that means homework. And, for primary aged children it means home reading.
Reading is a skill we all need and use every day. Young children learning to read benefit from regular practice. Many schools send home one or two books every night to be read, either in their entirety or partly, as part of the child’s homework.
But how is the best way to help? As teachers and mums, 'Busy Mothers' founders Gillian Cornwell and Catherine Lockhart know how important it is to practice literacy skills while learning, but also how in a busy life time can sometimes work against you. It is also hard if you are unsure what is the best way to help. So they have compiled the following:
Busy Mothers Tips for Home Reading
1. Set a time aside every day to read the home readers. It doesn’t have to be a long time, 10-15 minutes is great. It may be after/before homework is completed, it may be before dinner or at bedtime - whatever suits your family, but do it every day.
2. Sit with your child as they are reading, try to give them your full attention.
3. Allow the child to make mistakes. Don’t automatically correct every error as it is read. Wait until the sentence is finished and ask: “Can we try that again?” or: “Did that make sense?”
4. Encourage children to work out unfamiliar words themselves - encourage them to sound words out, look at the pictures for clues, choose a word that would make the sentence/story make sense.
5. Once the story is read ask questions about the story. Try to ask “wh” questions; “Who was the story about”, “What happened in the story”, “Why did X happen”.
6. Let children read at their own pace, beginning readers may be very slow, as they become confident they may well read very fast. Let them set the pace (as long as they are following the storyline).
7. If children have a choice of which books they bring home encourage them to try a variety of different texts, not just stories.
8. Encourage children to read all the text in a book - Front cover, title page, labels in pictures, speech bubbles.
9. Praise consistently especially if they are trying to work out words on their own.
10. Enjoy the time with your children!
Home Reading is a valuable learning tool for your child. Once they have mastered a text give them the opportunity to read it aloud, often. Let them read to younger (or older) siblings, read over the phone to Grandmas and Grandpas, let them read to you while you are preparing dinner or getting dressed.
Also read other stories for pleasure as well, surround your children with great books and take turns reading pages to each other. Read street signs, food packages, advertising catalogues whatever crosses your path. This reinforces the skills your children are learning and shows them that reading is a necessary skill that helps them understand their environment.
For more information on Busy Mothers please contact:
Ms Gillian Cornwell: p:0417 922 202 e:
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Ms Catherine Lockhart: e:
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