Reading at Home
Why is it important for your child to read at home?
Sharing stories, talking and singing every day helps your child’s development in many ways.
Reading and sharing stories can:
- Helping your child get to know sounds, words and language, and develop early literacy skills
- Learn to value books and stories
- Spark your child’s imagination and stimulate curiosity
- Help develop your child’s brain, ability to focus, concentration, social skills and communication skills
- Help your child learn about the world, their own cultures and other cultures.
How to read a story to your child
On the first reading:
- Make reading aloud feel like a treat. Make it a special quiet time and cuddle up so you can both see the book.
- Show curiosity about what you’re going to read: ‘This book looks interesting. It’s about an angry child. I wonder how angry he gets…’
- Read through the whole story the first time without stopping too much, let the story weave its own magic.
- Read with enjoyment. Read favourite stories over and over again.
- If your child did not understand something, try to explain: ‘Oh! I think what’s happening here is that…’
- Talk about the story and pictures: ‘I wonder why she did that? Oh no, I hope she’s not going to’…
- Link the stories to your own family experience: ‘This reminds me of when…’
- Link the stories to others that your child know: ‘Ah! Do you remember the dragon in…? do you remember what happened to him?’
- Encourage your child to join in with bits they know.
Questions you can ask when reading
Before reading the book:
- Can you point to the title?
- What do you think this story is about? What might happen in the story?
- What do we call the writing on the back of the book? (Blurb)
- What does the blurb tell us?
While reading the book:
- What is happening in the pictures?
- What had happened so far?
- Is that what you expected to happen?
- What might happen next?
- How do you think the story might end?
- What sort of character is…?
- Is she/he friendly/ mean/ nice…?
At the end of the book:
- Did you like this book? Why? (encourage children to develop an opinion about books by encouraging them to explain their reasons).
- What was your favourite part? Why?
- What was the most interesting/exciting part of the book? Can you find it?
- What sort of character was…?
- What happened in the story?
It is helpful if you:
- Say go back and try that again…’Fred Talk’ it to help you.
- Let your child read the book again so they become more fluent and their reading sounds like talking
- Talk lots about the book
- Read to your child as well as listen to them read – make reading fun!
Things that are unhelpful
- Don’t ask your child to ‘Fred-Talk’ (sound out) all the words – remember some can’t be sounded out (to, the, said, was)
- Don’t tell them they should know a word – help them work it out together