Having trouble getting your child engaged in reading? This is not uncommon.
But it is something to tackle as early as possible. Why?
Because reading is ESSENTIAL to learning.
Around year three, children stop ‘learning to read’ and begin to ‘read to learn’. This means that most of what is being learnt at school will arise from written text. Those who read typically have a better understanding of educational vocabulary, meaning better access to the curriculum and a better capacity to learn.
When we read, we build our knowledge of explicit word meanings and construct relevant background knowledge about particular topics. Without reading, our ideas and our perspectives of the world are limited.
So how do you ensure you do your very best to have your child access the curriculum?
Try these reading tips at home.
Why did that happen?
What is the authors trying to say here?
Do you feel sorry for this character? Why or why not?
Why did the character do that?
What have we learnt about ____ (e.g. farms) so far?
If you don’t have time to sit and read with your child, ask them to summarise what they have read to you after they read. Tell them they need to tell you 2-3 things about the story they have read or ask them to describe one of the characters in the story.
Alternatively, ask your child to find 2-3 words that they don’t understand and underline them. Talk about the word meanings together so they can add this to their vocabulary
Sydney Therapy & Co. is a Speech Pathology & Occupational Therapy practice in Lane Cove.
We offer individual or group based therapy and workshops which include literacy intervention.