Reading
There are many ways you as parents and carers can help your children become competent
and fluent readers. Reading is an essential skill that everyone requires,
so helping your child at home from a young age gives them a head start
and allows them to make rapid progress with their reading.
Jolly
Phonics
Tricky
Words
Picture Books
Library
Jolly Phonics
Many
schools are now using the Jolly Phonics* reading scheme to teach
reading. The scheme involves children learning 42 sounds which enable them to
‘sound-out’ most words. The sounds have actions and songs to accompany
them to make it easier for children to remember the letters and
formation. The songs for each letter sound can be found by visiting
www.jollylearning.co.uk.
The seven sets of Jolly Phonics letter sounds are normally taught in
this order, focusing on one set at a time. You may want to begin by
introducing your child to one or two letter sounds each week. This way
you can ensure your child is familiar with both the letter sound and the
upper and lower case letter.
1) s, a, t, i, p, n
2) ck, e, h, r, m, d
3) g, o, u , l , f , b
4) ai, j, oa, ie, ee, or
5) z, w, ng, v, oo, oo
6) y, x, ch, sh, th, th
7) qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar
By
teaching and reinforcing these sounds at home your child will be able to
progress to the next level of their reading. Once a child is competent
with all the Jolly Phonics* sounds they are able to start reading words
by sounding out e.g c-a-t is ‘cat’, h-e-l-p ‘help’. Each letter sound
when blended together makes a word.
There
are some words which cannot be ‘sounded-out’ and these are known as
‘Tricky Words'. These words have to be taught and learnt. By learning these together at home with your child, perhaps
one or two a week, they will be able to progress more quickly with their
reading.
When
your child has learnt the 42 sounds and the tricky words they will have
the ability to read most stories.
*Jolly Phonics is a reading and writing scheme which was developed by
Sue Lloyd and Sara Wernham. For
more information on the Jolly Phonics scheme published by Jolly Learning visit
–
www.jollylearning.co.uk
Picture Books
By
sharing a picture book as often as possible with your child they
will learn new language and become familiar with the format and layout of
stories.
Children get a lot of enjoyment from
stories. Books can be found to suit a wide range of abilities and
interests. Stories are a powerful tool in teaching your child about the
world around them, and are extremely beneficial to their general
knowledge and understanding of life. Whether
you enjoy the same book over and over again, or have a different story
every night, your child is learning new words and discovering the power
of language.
There are many bookshops with child friendly reading corners and a wide
selection of children's books both factual and fiction. Your child may
enjoy choosing a book from one of these stores or enjoying a story time
session with other children their age.
Library
There
are a wide range of stories suitable for all ages in your local library.
By visiting the library every week or during the school holidays you and your
child can choose a range of picture books to share together.
Choose fiction and non-fiction books.
Non-fiction books provide opportunities to discuss how things work
and the world around us.
Select books which have more advanced language
for you to read to your child.
Choose books which your child can read
themselves.
Find books with repetitive language so your
child can join in and get involved with the story.
Borrow pop-up books and picture flap books
which encourage your child to ask questions about the story.
Look for books which have large text so
you can point to the words and your child can follow as your read.
Find read along books with a tape or CD
so your child can become more independent and sit and listen to a
story themselves.
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