Knowing how to best support your child with their reading at home can be an invaluable part of successful literacy development. The ability to read well is the single biggest influence on a person's success in later-life.
Because of this, having easy strategies you can go to in order to help build your child's reading skills can offer you the peace of mind that you are providing the best support for your child's reading.
Strategy 1 - Shared Reading
In the Shared Reading technique, parent and child read out loud at the same time (with the parent adopting the child's pace). When the child gets to a word they don't know they 'drop out' and listen to the adult say the unfamiliar word. The parent and child then go back to the beginning of that sentence, this time reading the new word out again together. The 'drop out' aspect can then be repeated each time the child comes across an unfamiliar word.
Strategy 2 - Echo Reading
Echo Reading is very effective, particularly if the text is at a more challenging level for the child. The parent reads a sentence out loud, one at a time. Then then child repeats it back, after hearing the adult sound out any unfamiliar words. If they make a mistake, re-read the sentence and get them to echo it back another time.
BEWARE - Some children will simply echo back what they have heard, not what has been read. They can be listening to the sound not reading from the page. To avoid this make sure they are following the text as you read. Here's an easy game to ensure they follow the text.
'Jump In' Game
Read a sentence at a time. Every second or third sentence, make an intentional mistake e.g. instead of the 'hairy monster', you will read the 'heavy monster'. The child then needs to shout 'jump in' as soon as they spot your mistake and correct you. This game is always a crowd pleaser as children love correcting adults!
Strategy 3 - Repeated Reading
Repeated reading is a fantastic tool to support the comprehension of a text. The child needs to re-read each paragraph, before moving onto the next and repeating this. By doing this, the first read helps the child to recognise the actual words on the page, whereas the second attempt allows them to focus on the true meaning of the text.
Allow your child to repeat read to you, and then - at a appropriate time in the text - stop them and ask a question. Questions about hidden meanings, the use of specific words, how the characters are feeling or making predictions are all good practice.
For more support with reading, see my Phonics tuition course page for details of my reading courses.
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