EnjoyReading Asparents,weallwantthebestforourchildren.We’reprobablyallawarethatit’simportanttomakesuretheyareconfident,fluentreaderswhoenjoyreading,butoftenit’shardtoknowwheretostart.Shouldyoureadtoyourbaby?
Whatcanyoudotohelpgetyourchildrenfamiliarwithwordsandreadingbeforeschool?
Andhowdoyouhelpthemprogressatschoolwhentheteachingisdifferentnowadays?
Wehopethatthisguidewillhelpanswersomeofyourquestions,aswellasgiveyousomeadviceandinspirationonhowtohelpchildrenenjoyreading. AtPearson,we’rededicatedtohelpingpeopleprogressintheirlivesthroughallkindsoflearning.That’swhywe’realsosupportingseveralotherreadinginitiativesaspartofour‘EnjoyReading’campaign. Ifyou’retheparentofapre-schoolagechild,makesureyoucheckout.ukthenationalfreebooksprogramme.Itprovidesafreebookpackforeverychildaged4-5yearsinEnglandandWalestoshareandenjoywiththeirfamilyandfriends,withtheaimofencouragingreadingforpleasureathome. Similarly,ifyou’retheparentofachildinyear5or6atprimaryschool,theexcitingnewnational‘ReadforMySchool’petition,whichwillrunin2013,willgiveyourchildtheopportunitytowinfreebooksfortheirschoolbytakingareading-for-pleasurechallenge.Headtowww.readformyschool.co.ukformoredetails.
1 EnjoyReading Whyisreadingsoimportant?
Evidencesuggeststhatchildrenwhoreadforenjoymenteverydaynotonlyperformbetterinreadingteststhanthosewhodon’t,butalsodevelopabroadervocabulary,increasedgeneralknowledgeandabetterunderstandingofothercultures. Infact,there’sevidencetosuggestthatreadingforpleasureismorelikelytodeterminewhetherachilddoeswellatschoolthantheirsocialoreconomicbackground. WhatdifferencecouldImakeasaparent?
Theshortansweris:alot!
Parentsarebyfarthemostimportanteducatorsinachild’slifeandit’snevertooyoungforachildtostart,evenifyou’reonlyreadingwithyourchildforafewminutesaday.Beforethey’reborn,babieslearntorecognisetheirparents’voices.Readingtoyourbabyfromthetimethey’reborngivesthemfortofyourvoiceandincreasestheirexposuretolanguage. Buildingvocabularyandunderstanding Learningtoreadisaboutlisteningandunderstandingaswellasworkingoutprint.Throughhearingstories,childrenareexposedtoarichandwidevocabulary.Thishelpsthembuildtheirownvocabularyandimprovetheirunderstandingwhentheylisten,whichisvitalastheystarttoread.It’simportantforthemtounderstandhowstoriesworkaswell.Evenifyourchilddoesn’tunderstandeveryword,they’llhearnewsounds,wordsandphraseswhichtheycanthentryout,copyingwhattheyhaveheard.Aschildrenstarttolearntoreadatschool,youcanplayanimportantroleinhelpingtokeeptheminterestedinbooks,findingoutwhatintereststhemandhelpingthemtofindbooksthatwillbeengagingandfunforthem.Givetimetohelpingthempractisereadingthebookstheywillbringhomefromschool.
2 EnjoyReading Mychildistooyoungtolearntoreadyet,butwhatcanIdotosetthemoffintherightdirection?
Makesurethatyourchildisfamiliarwithlanguageandbookssothattheycanseehowenjoyablereadingis.Someofthethingsyoucandoinclude: •Readingaloudtoyourchild,talkingaboutthewordsandpictures,andsharingideasaboutthebook •Readingyourself:Childrenwhoseeadultsreading,andenjoyingreading,aremuchmorelikelytowanttoreadthemselves •Makingsureyourchildissurroundedbybooks:Youdon’tneedhundredsofbooksathome,butmakeregulartripstothelibraryorbookshop,notjusttoborrowbooksbuttospendtimetogetherbrowsingandlearningtomakechoices.Inthisway,readingesahabit. Mostimportantly,talktoyourchild.Spendtimewiththem,doingsimpleactivities(cooking,makingsomething,buildingamodel).Asyoutalkaboutwhatyou’redoing,youarehelpingthemtolearnnewwords.Later,whentheyseewordswrittendown,theyhavealreadyheardthemandknowwhattheymean. “Readingisgreatforeveryone,andlovingbooksissomethingthatcanstartwhenyou’reveryyoung.Wecanlearnaboutpeopleandlifefromstories,poemsandnon-fiction,andifyoureadtoyourchildrenregularlyforfunyouwilldefinitelybehelpingtheminsomanyways.”TonyBradman “Readingforpleasureisthesinglebiggestfactorinesslaterinlife,outsideofaneducation.Studyafterstudyhasshownthatthosechildrenwhoreadforpleasurearetheoneswhoaremostlikelytofulfiltheirambitions.Ifyourchildreads,theywilleed–it’sthatsimple.”BaliRai
3 EnjoyReading Readingwithyourchild Sharingabookwithyourchildallowsyoutoshareadventuresandexperiencesinthesafeworldofthebook.Itallowsyoutoaskquestions,talkaboutwhathashappenedanddecidewhatyouthinktogether. Sharingabookcanbeabondingexperienceandforyoungchildren,cuddlingupwithaparenttoreadabookcanbeaspecialtime.Readingisimportant,butdon’tfeelthatyouhavetotaketheroleofyourchild’steacherorputpressureonyourchildtostarttoreadbeforetheygotoschool.It’sgreattoinstilaloveofbooksandlanguagefromanearlyage,butmostofall,beledbyyourchildandtheirinterestsandpaceofdevelopment.Overthenextpages,youcanpickupsometipson: •howtoreadwithyourchild•helpingchildrentoenjoyreading•choosingwhattoread•understandingphonics “Bookstransformchildren’slives-theycanopenwindowsontonewworlds,widentheirhorizonsorevenjustmakethemlaughthemselvessilly!
Readingforpleasurecangivechildrenthekeytheyneedtounlocktheirdreams.”herEdge
4 EnjoyReading Howtoreadwithyourchild Formostofus,readingaloudisn’tpartofeverydaylife,sothethoughtofreadingastorytoyourchildmaybeabitdaunting.Butdon’tletthisputyouoff–yourchildrenwillbeenjoyingthemselvestoomuchtocriticiseyourperformance!
WhenshouldIstartreadingwithmychild?
It’sgreattoreadtoyourchildfromtheearliestmonths.Cuddlecloseandsingnurseryrhymes,readastorywithlotsofsoundeffects,orplaypeek-a-booalongwithabook.Thisshowsyourbabyhowimportantbooksaretoyou,thatewithalovingadultandthatbooksarefunandexciting. Toptipsforreadingwithyourbaby •Toayoungbaby,‘reading’meansholdingtheminyourarms,exploringasoftbook.•Startreadingwithyourbabywhentheyarearoundthreemonthsold.Rememberthat forbabiesreadingislikeplay–letthemwavethebookaround.•Onceyourbabysitsup,chooselight,sturdyboardbookswithroundedcorners,bright picturesandtexturestofeel.Fromsixmonths,babieslovelift-the-flapbooks.Fromninemonths,introducenoisysoundbooks.Beguidedbywhatmakesreadingfunforyouboth.•Usethepicturesaswellasthewords.Babieslearnbydoing:asbabyreachesforthepictures,saythewordstohelpbuildvocabulary.Berelaxedaboutwhatbooksmeantoababy-afive-minutebouncysing-songgamewithanopenbookisstillreading!

5 EnjoyReading HowshouldIreadtomychild?
•Asyoureadtoyourchild,bringthecharacterstolife–talkaboutthecharacters,thedrawingsandtheeventssothatthestorystartsealive. •Don’tbeafraidtotrydifferentvoicesortryoutyouractingskills.WhileyoumaynotwinanOscar,yourchildwillenjoyyourperformanceandappreciatethestoryevenmore. •Rememberthatyourfacesaysitall–soexaggerateyournormalexpressiontimesthreelikeachildren’sTVpresenter:childrenwillloveit. •Emphasiserepeatedwordsandphrases(‘thebigbadwolf’;‘…blew,andblew,andblewthehousedown’).Inthisway,yourchildstartstolearnthelanguageusedinbooks.Encourageyourchildtosaythewordswithyou. •Turnoffthetelevisionandconcentrateonenjoyingthebook.•Tryaudiobooksthatchildrencanlistentoonthecarstereo,putersorphones– thisisagreatwaytobuildachild’sunderstandingofstoriesandimprovetheirlistening. HowoftenshouldIreadtomychild,andhowlongfor?
•Beguidedbyhowlongtheywilllisten.Foryoungerchildrenthismaybequiteshortperiodsoftime,whileslightlyolderchildrenmaybereadiertolistenforlonger. •Asforhowoften,there’snorightanswer,butmanyexpertssuggestaroutinehelps.Forschool-agechildren,abedtimestorycanbeanicewayforyoutospendasmallamountoftimetogetherandwinddownafterabusyday.Forpre-schoolchildren,shorterburstsofreadingthroughoutthedaymaybeagoodideabut,again,beguidedbyhowlongyourchildwilllisten.
6 EnjoyReading Top10tipstohelpchildrenenjoyreading Tohelpmakereadingenjoyableandfun,weaskedexpertsandauthorswhattheymendtohelpgetkidsreading.
1.Makebookspartofyourfamilylife–Alwayshavebooksaroundsothatyouandyourchildrenarereadytoreadwheneverthere’sachance.
2.Joinyourlocallibrary–Getyourchildalibrarycard.You’llfindthelatestvideogames,blu-raysandDVDs,plustonsandtonsoffantasticbooks.Allowthemtopicktheirownbooks,encouragingtheirowninterests.
3.Matchtheirinterests–Helpthemfindtherightbook-itdoesn’tmatterifit’sfiction,poetry,icbooksornon-fiction.
4.Allreadingisgood–Don’tdiscountnon-fiction,ics,graphicnovels,magazinesandleaflets.Readingisreadinganditisallgood. 5.fortable!
–Snuggleupsomewherewarmandcosywithyourchild,eitherinbed,onabeanbagoronthesofa,ormakesuretheyhavefywhenreadingalone.
6.Askquestions–Tokeeptheminterestedinthestory,askyourchildquestionsasyoureadsuchas,‘Whatdoyouthinkwillhappennext?
’or‘Wheredidwegettolastnight?
Canyourememberwhathadhappenedalready?
’
7.Readwheneveryougetthechance–Bringalongabookormagazineforanytimeyourchildhastowait,suchasatadoctor’ssurgery.
8.Readagainandagain–Encourageyourchildtore-readfavouritebooksandpoems.Re-readinghelpstobuildupfluencyandconfidence.
9.Bedtimestories–Regularlyreadwithyourchildorchildrenatbedtime.It’sagreatwaytoendthedayandtospendvaluabletimewithyourchild. 10.Rhymeandrepetition–Booksandpoemswhichincluderhymeandrepetitionaregreatforencouragingyourchildorchildrentojoininandrememberthewords. “Readingisvitalfordevelopingtheimagination–theabilitytostandinotherpeople’sshoesandlookthroughothereyes.Withabookyoucanexperienceotherlives,otherworlds,othertimes.Booksarethekeytoopeningupopportunities.”Michaelaan “Weneedtoreadingbeingseenassomethingchildrenjustdoinschool.Itneedstobeseenasattractiveputers,videogames,filmsandDVDsandasafunwaytospendfreetime.Seeingreadingassomethingthathappensathomeandissharedbyeveryoneinthefamilyiskey.”herEdge
7 EnjoyReading Choosingwhattoread Whenestoinstillingaloveofreading,itdoesn’treallymatterwhatyouread.Theimportantthingisthatweallhelptoinspireourchildrentofeelconfidentfortablereading.Askyourselfwhattypeofreadingthebookisfor.Isitabooktheyhavegotfromschooltohelppractisereadingandbuildfluency?
Isitabookthattheyfindeasytoreadthathelpsthembuildconfidence?
Isitabookforyoutoreadforpleasuretoyourchild?
WhatshouldIreadtomychild,whatshouldtheybereading,andwhen?
Withhundredsofbooksinyourlocallibrary,schoolorbookshop,itcanbehardtoknowwheretostartwhenchoosingabookforyourchild.Rememberthatasadultsweliketore-readfavouritebooks,relaxwithamagazineortacklesomethingchallenging.Childrenarethesame,soencouragechoices–maybeafamiliarbookforre-readingaswellassomethingnew.Don’tshowdisapprovalifyourchildreturnstofavourites.YoucanfindadviceonwhatbookschildrenofdifferentagesmightenjoyreadingonthePuffinwebsite:www.puffin.co.ukIfyou’restuckforsomethingtocatchyourchildren’simaginations,itmightbeworthaskingtheirteacheroralibrarianforsomeadvice.Forease,thebooksellerWaterstoneshaspulledtogetheralistof50booksforchildrenofprimaryschoolage.They’reallclassics,soit’sworthhavingalookforabitofinspiration:www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/AssetsLibrary/SECTORS/PRIMARYASSETSNEW/ReadingforPleasure/Images/WaterstonesTop50childrensliteraturepicks.pdf
8 EnjoyReading HowcanIchoosebooksattherightlevelformychild?
Especiallyforyoungerchildren,beguidedbytheteacher.Mostschoolshavesomekindofsystem,sometimescolour-coded,bywhichtheygradehowdifficultabookmightbe.Thisisparticularlyimportantwhenchildrenarestilllearningphonics.Asaruleofthumb,youwouldexpectachildtoreadabookwithabout95%uracyiftheywanttoreadittothemselves.Lessthanthat,andit’slikelythatthey’remissingout,ormisreadingtoomanywordsforthemtomakesenseofthestory.Introducethe‘Ruleoffive’toolderchildren.Encouragethemtoreadthefirstpageortwoofanewbook.Theymustputuponefingerforeverywordtheycannotread.Iftheygettofivefingers,thenthebookistoohardforthemandtheyshouldchooseanotherone.Don’tencouragethemjusttoguessatwordstheycan’tread.Whenweaskedauthorswhattheylikedtoreadtotheirchildren,afewoldfavouritescroppedup: TonyBradman,authorofDillytheDinosaurandmanyotherbooks:“WeenjoyedtheDoggerandAlfieseriesbyShirleyHughes,thewonderfulillustrationsofJohnBurninghamorclassicpicturebooksfromandAllanAhlbergsuchasEachPeachPearPlum.AsmykidsgotolderIparticularlylikedreadingrhythmic,rhymingtextsandtwoofmyfavouriteswereMrMagnoliabyQuentinBlake,andInTheNightKitchenbyMauriceSendak–greattoreadaloud!
”herEdge,authoroftheDeadWaysseries“IreadlotsofJuliaDonaldson’sandAxelScheffler’sbooks:TheSmartestGiantinTown,Tiddler,TabbyMcTat-greattojoininwithandsomethingineveryspreadforinquisitiveeyestospot.”
9 EnjoyReading Understandingphonics Mychildhasjuststartedschoolandislearningtoreadviaphonics.Whatisphonics?
Withphonics,childrenaretaughttoreadbylearningthephonemes(sounds)thatrepresentlettersorgroupsofgraphemes(letters). Withthisknowledge,childrencanbegintoreadwordsbylearninghowtoblendthesoundstogether.Unlockinghowthisalphabeticcodeworksmeanstheycanlearntodecodeanyword.Forexample,whentaughtthesounds/t/,/p/,/a/,/i/and/s/earlyon,childrencanreadwordssuchasit,is,tap,tip,pat,sipandsatbyblendingtheindividualsoundstogethertomakethewholeword. Thesewordscanalsobebrokendown(segmented)intotheirphonemesforspelling.Forexample,theword‘sat’hasthreephonemes,/s/,/a/and/t/whichthechildrenlearntowritewiththethreegraphemes(letters)‘s’,‘a’and‘t’thattheyhavebeentaught. Theywillalsobetaughttoreadwords–suchas‘once’,‘was’or‘have’–whichdon’tfollowthephonic‘rules’.They’llbuildupastockofthesetrickywordsthattheycanrecognizestraightaway. Toptipsonphonics Saythesoundscorrectly It’simportantthatthesoundsarepronouncedcorrectly,astheywouldsoundinspeech.Trynottoadd‘uh’toconsonantsounds,suchas/t/and/p/,asthismakesittrickiertoblendthesoundstogetherintowords. Linksoundsandletterstomakewords Childrenaretaughtinschooltoquicklyseealinkbetweenthephoneme(sounds)andawrittenrepresentationofthatsound(grapheme).Athome,encourageyourchildtodothesamewhenplayingwithfridgesinthekitchen,forexample,or‘writing’whenyouarewriting. Don’tbescared–makeitfun!
Phonicscanseemdauntingforparentswhowereprobablytaughttoreadinaratherdifferentway.However,simplegamessuchas‘Ispy’aregreatforhelpingreading,becausethechildrenhavetolistentosounds.Say,“Ispy,withmylittleeye,somethingthatbeginswith(forexample)thesound‘f-f-f’”Lookatthe‘football’orthe‘fridge’.Makesureyourefertothefirstsound(notthefirstletter).Takeitinturns,withyourchildsaying,“Ispy…”Makeitlotsoffun. Practise!
Encourageyourchildtousetheirphonicknowledgewhentheyarepractisingtheirreading.Makesurethattheylookateachletterinturn,allthrougheachword.Encouragethemtoworkoutthesoundsandthenblendthemtogethertomakethewholeword.Praisethemfortryingtouseallthelettersratherthanguessingfromjustthefirstletterorthepicture. 10 EnjoyReading Whatifchildrenjustdon’tenjoyreading?
Ifyouthinkyourchildishavingproblemsreading,thefirststepisalwaystospeaktoyourchild’steacherandshareyourconcerns.Manychildrenlearnatdifferentrates,andyoushouldn’tgetanxious.Rememberthatanxiouschildrencan’tlearn,andthatearlyenjoymentofbooksandstorieslastsforlife. WhatdoIdoifmychilddoesn’tenjoyreading?
•Makesureyourchildisn’ttired,hungryordesperatetowatchtheirfavouriteTV programmewhenyoureadtothem.Sitwiththemforashorttimeeverydayandreadabookwiththemonasubjectthatintereststhem,whetherthat’scars,animalsorsports.Don’texpectthemtoreaditforthemselves.Justshowthemhowinterestingitistobeabletoreadsothattheywanttodoitforthemselves.•Formanychildren,especiallyboysastheygetolder,non-fictionbooksaremoreinterestingthanfiction,soitmaybeassimpleaschangingthetypeofbooksyouarereadingtogether.Talktoyourteacheroralocalchildren’slibrariantoseewhatbooksareavailablethatmatchyourchild’sinterests.•Giveplentyofpraise.Letyourchildknowhowpleasedyouarewhenheorshelooksatabook.Showinterestinwhattheyhavechosen.Childrenreallydodevelopattheirownrateswhenestoreading. Mysonisswitchingoffreading-whatcanIdo?
Researchshowsthatboysarelesslikelytoenjoyreadingthangirls.Moreboysthangirlsstrugglewithreadingandwritingatschoolandboysaremorelikelytosaytheydon’tspendanytimereadingoutsidetheclassroom.Buttherearewaysyoucanhelp: •It’simportanttomakesurethatyou’rereadingsomethingwithyoursonwhichinterestshim.Manyboyslikenon-fictionbooks,sotryaskingatyourlocallibraryformendations–itmaybethathe’llenjoyreadingHorribleHistoriesortheGuinnessBookofRecordsmorethanfiction. •Rolemodelsarealsoimportant.Makesureboysseetheirdads,unclesorgranddadsreading,evenifit’sanewspaper,sothatitseemsfamiliarandtheycancopytheirreadingbehaviour. •Finally,praiseyoursonwhensomethingisreadwell.Equally,ifhereadssomethingincorrectly,don’tmakehimfeelthatthisisbad-mistakesarejustpartofthelearningprocess. 11 EnjoyReading WhatshouldIdoifmychildisnotatthereadinglevelthey’reexpectedtobeat?
•Don’tpanicanddon’tmakeyourchildstressedaboutreading.Itmaybethecasethatyourchildisyoungfortheiryeargroup,ornotdevelopmentallyreadyforreading.Also,mostchildrendon’tprogressinastraightlineastheylearntoread:theymayhaveperiodsoffastprogressfollowedbyperiodsofconsolidation.Childrenwhostartoffbehindforanyreasontendtotakealittlewhiletocatchup. •Itcanbeveryworryingifyouthinkyourchildisfallingbehind.Makeanappointmenttodiscussyourconcernswithyourchild’sclassteacher. “Readingshouldbeabouthavingfunandadventureandmagic,notjust‘makingprogress’.”Michaelaan Ithinkmychild’sproblemsaremoreserious–whatshouldIdo?
Alwaysspeaktoyourchild’steacherandshareyourconcernsagain.Explainexactlywhatitisthatisworryingyou.Yourchildmighthavehearingproblems,forexample,thataregettinginthewayoflearningtoreadandtheschoolcanarrangeforteststobedone.Herearelinksanisationsthatdealwithsomeotherreadingproblems: Dyslexia .ukwww.nhs.uk/conditions/dyslexia/pages/introduction.aspx.uk Stammering SpeechandLanguageTherapists 12 EnjoyReading Furtherinformation Foradviceonreadingtoyourchild: www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/Primary/GlobalPages/Reading-for-Pleasure/Reading-for-Pleasure.aspx.ukwww.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/pedagogy/b00192950/encouraging-reading-for-pleasure(guideforteachers,butcontainsplentyofrelevantadvice) Phonicssupport .uk/schools/phonics.aspx &LiteracyTrust /learning.uk Wheretofindyourlocallibrary–Directgov: www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/YourlocalcouncilandCouncilTax/YourCommunity/DG_4018790 Findalocalbookshop: .uk/bookshopsearch/stockistshttp://localbookshops.tbphost.co.uk/TBP.Web//PurchaseProduct/OrderProduct/CustomerSelectProduct/FindARetailer.