HOMEWORK HELP WITH MRS WRIGHT
PART 2-READING AT HOME
Last term we looked at spelling and the importance of High Frequency (common) words in particular. It is important for children to be able to recognise these words if they are to become confident and successful readers.
Parents/carers often ask how they can build on the work done in school in helping their child develop this basic life skill. Below are some tips you might find useful:
Ø Choose a quiet time when your child is not too tired and try not to have distractions such as the tv on in the background.
Ø Regular practice “little and often” works best- no longer than 10 or 15 mins is ideal.
Ø Success is the key “nothing succeeds like success” so don’t worry if your child seems to be reading an easy book- very often this gives a child confidence. Struggling with a book with many unknown words is pointless.
Ø The rule of thumb is a rough but good way to judge if your child’s book is too difficult. Get them to read 1 page out aloud while you listen out for mistakes. Starting with your little finger, hold 1 finger out at a time for each unknown word. If you have reached your thumb before your child has finished the page then the book is probably too difficult- so basically 5 or more unknown words on 1 page means your child is struggling with that book.
Ø Maintain the flow or what to do if your child hesitates or makes a mistake. Teachers encourage readers to use different strategies for working out unknown words.
A. Use phonics- use the first letter to help think of a word that makes sense, build up the word by sounding out the letters.
B. High Frequency – sometimes words cannot be sounded out, this is where High Frequency words need to recognised.
C. Context Clues- look carefully at any pictures, read the rest of the sentence to make a sensible guess.
Ø Talking about the book- is just as important as reading the book. Talk to your child about the book; the pictures, the characters, how they think the story will end, their favourite part. You will then be able to see how well they have understood.
Ø Variety is important- children need to experience a variety of reading materials eg. picture books, comics, magazines, poems, newspapers, information books and the internet. Below are some links for online story books.
www.britishcouncil.org/kids
www.aaronshep.com/stories
www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/onlinestory/htm
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com for non-fiction information
Once again I hope this has been of some use. As a school we always welcome feedback and indeed any recommendations for the future.
Gina Wright
Literacy Subject Leader
September 2009