Tips for Helping With
Reading
General Tips for Parents on Helping Your
Children Become Readers
Take time to enjoy books and stories with your children. Not only will
it help them improve their reading but it is a great opportunity to
enjoy them together. Opening a book is like beginning an adventure
– you never know what you might find inside.
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Start reading in the first weeks of your child’s life and don’t stop!
Babies love nursery rhymes.
Talk with your children as you play, shop or work around the
house. Listen to what they say. Ask questions. Point out letters
and words that they see all around them – street signs, cereal
boxes, words in shops or out and about.
Follow the words and read stories using the pictures. As your
child becomes more confident take it in turns to read. Praise your
child – tell them how well they’re doing and they’ll want to read
more.
Have fun! Remember that a good ten minutes is better than a
difficult half-hour.
Try to make your reading as expressive as possible. Let the
emotion of the story show through your facial expression and
your voice. It really brings characters and the story to life. Try
using different and funny voices for characters as this can really
engage children. Talk about the words and what’s happening in
the story as you read.
Read to your children. Try to read to them at the same time every
day. Bedtime is a great time to share a story. Why not let your
child choose the story? Your child is never too old to enjoy a good
story – keep reading to them even when they can read
themselves.
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Visit the library together. Ask the librarian for help in finding
books your children will enjoy. Why not encourage your child to
join the library and have their own card? It’s free to join.
Allow your child to choose their own books, comics and
magazines. Find out what they enjoy – do they like animals,
sports or magic? Follow their interests and let them read their
favourites. Surprise them with books or magazines about their
favourite interests and activities.
Introduce your children to different types of books: classic fiction,
chapter books, short stories, joke books, poetry, non-fiction.
Read books, newspapers and magazines yourself and have them
visible around the home, so you and your children will always
have something to read and your child will know that reading is
important in your life.
By reading with your children regularly you are:
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Stimulating their imagination.
Developing their understanding of how language works.
Helping them to discover the joys of reading.
Strengthening your relationship with your child.
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Giving them a great start to their education.
For more information contact Reading Is Fundamental, UK (RIF) on 020 7828 2435 or visit their website www.rif.org.uk
Information for Parents
1. Learning the Letter Sounds
In Jolly Phonics the 42 main sounds of English are taught,
not just the alphabet sounds. For each sound there is an
action which helps the children remember the sound the
letter makes.
2. Letter Formation
It is very important that your child holds their pencil
correctly (frog on a log!). If the pencil hold starts
incorrectly it is very difficult to get it right later on. The
correct formation for each letter can be seen on the sound
sheets. Cursive writing is taught in Reception ready for
joined up handwriting.
3. Blending
Blending is a process of saying the sounds in a word and
then running them together to make the word, e.g. c-a-t is
cat. It is a technique your child will need to learn, and it
improves with practice. Some children take longer to do
this than others. To start with you should sound out the
word and see if your child can hear it. The sounds must be
said quickly to hear the word. You can do this by using
“robot arms” moving your arms each time you hear a
sound, starting slowly at first and speeding your “robot
arms” up. To give your child practice at blending sounds
she/he will bring home word lists. Please listen to your
child blending the sounds to read the words and then send
it back to school. Your child will also bring home reading
books, please listen to them read regularly.
4. Identifying Sounds in Words
If your child is going to be able to write independently
she/he will need to be able to hear the sounds in words
and to write the letters for those sounds.
When your child is able to hear the sounds in words she/he
may bring home words with which to practise their new
writing skill. These words are for you to call out. Your child
has to listen to the sounds and write down the letters for
those sounds. This is the first step towards our child
becoming an independent writer.
5. Tricky Words
Some words cannot be sounded out or spelt correctly by
listening for the sounds in them. These are called “tricky
words” and have to be learnt. As your child becomes more
fluent at reading and writing she/he will be taught how to
cope with tricky words.
Finally
This all sounds a great deal of work, but it goes in stages and
is spread over a considerable period of time. Little and often
is best. Your child may be tired after school, don’t worry, it is
better to leave it then push too hard. There is no doubt that
the effort on your part, at this stage, is well worth it.
Tips for Reading
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Do not cover the pictures as they can be used as a cue to
help read the story.
Sound out the words that can be sounded out. Some
words cannot be sounded out because they are not
phonetic (tricky words). E.g. “the”, “want”, “their”.
Do the jolly phonics actions as you sound out the word.
This will act as a prompt.
Say the word if your child cannot sound it out. Get them
to identify the sounds and repeat the word back to you.
If your child is really unwilling to attempt his/her books,
read the story to them as this models what reading is all
about.
Remember different children are at different stages with
their reading. So don’t panic.
Like any other learning, children will improve with
practice, so keep practising the sounds as these are part of
the key to successful reading.
The National Literacy Strategy states that pupils should be
taught to:
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Discriminate between the separate sounds in words.
Learn the letters and letter combinations most commonly
used to spell those sounds.
Learn words by sounding out and blending their separate
parts.
Write words by combining the spelling patterns of their
own sounds.
This pack has been put together to give parents ideas as to
how to help children with their reading.
The information comes from relevant internet sites, books and
good practice within Bailey’s Court Primary School.
We hope that you find this information helpful.
Helping with Reading: Ages 5 to 7
How to Encourage your Child to Read
Read yourself! Set a good example by sharing your reading. Let your children see that you value
books and keep them at home.
Keep books safe. Make your child their own special place to keep their books. Show them how to
turn pages carefully.
Point out words all around you. Help your child to read the words around them: on food packets in
the supermarket, on buses, in newspapers, in recipes.
Visit your library – it’s free to join! All libraries have children’s sections. Many also have regular
storytelling sessions.
Make time to read. Read a bedtime story with your child every night. Encourage them to share
reading with grandparents, brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles.
Keep in touch with school. Make sure your child swaps their home reading books regularly at school
and try to make a regular time of about 10 minutes to hear them read.
If English is not your family’s first language. You can buy dual language books. You can talk about
books and stories in any language.
How to Help with Reading
Be positive! Praise your child for trying hard at their reading. Let them know it’s all right to make
mistakes.
Turn off the TV! It’s easier for your child to concentrate if there are no distractions.
Give them time. Let them make a guess before you tell them the word. Help them to get the first
sound or try breaking the word up into smaller sections.
Point with a finger. Encourage them to follow the words with their finger.
Don’t make them try too hard! It doesn’t matter if you have to tell them the word sometimes.
Let them read their favourites. It’s good practice to read the same books over and over again.
Asks lots of questions. Check they understand the story by asking them questions about what
happens. Use the pictures to explain what’s happening.
Don’t read for too long. A good ten minutes is better than a difficult half hour.
Activities to try at home
Organise a treasure hunt around the house on a rainy day. Give your child a list of things that they
can find in the house and see how quickly they can collect all the items.
Create a monster dictionary by making up names of frightening monsters that begin with different
letters of the alphabet. Ask your child to draw a picture of each one.
For more information contact Reading Is Fundamental, UK (RIF) on 020 7828 2435 or visit their website www.rif.org.uk
Helping with Reading: Ages 7 to 11
How to encourage your child to read.
Read yourself! Show a good example by talking about the reading you do at work and at home Let
your child know that reading is an important part of your life.
Keep books safe. Make your child their own special place to keep their books in their bedroom.
Visit your library – it’s free to join! As well as taking out story books, use visits to the library as a
time to find books and CD ROMs about your child’s hobbies and interests.
Make time to read. Set aside a time for reading for the family - after school or before bedtime.
Encourage independent reading but don’t be afraid to still tell a bedtime story
Don’t just read books. Encourage your child to read newspapers, TV guides, comics and magazines.
Ask your child to find out information from the Yellow Pages, the Internet, cookery books, etc.
Let your child read with younger children. Encourage them to read to other members of the family.
Keep in touch with school. Make sure your child swaps their home reading books regularly at
school and try to make a regular time slot of about 10 minutes to hear them read.
If English is not your family’s first language. You can buy dual language books. You can talk about
books and stories in any language.
How to Help with Reading
Be positive! Praise your child for trying hard at their reading. Let them know it’s all right to make
mistakes.
Give them time. Let them make a guess before you tell them the word. Let them read to the end of
the line before correcting their mistakes. It doesn’t matter if you have to tell them the word
sometimes.
Spot words inside words. Help them to spot words they know within larger more complicated
words.
Let them read their favourites. Don’t worry if they only read one kind of book. If they are really
stuck, ask the librarian or teacher to suggest something else they might like.
Make the story come to life. Encourage your child to read with expression. This will help them read
more fluently.
Ask lots of questions about the story. What would you have done if you were ...? Does this book
remind you of anything that has happened to you? Can you guess what is going to happen next?
Use a dictionary. Buy a simple dictionary and use it to check the meanings of new words.
Activities to try at home
Make a scrap book with your child about their favourite star, group or team. Let them cut pictures
out of magazines and papers and write their own captions.
Buy a book of crosswords and word searches and try to solve them together. Make up your own
puzzles to try out on family and friends.
For more information contact Reading Is Fundamental, UK (RIF) on 020 7828 2435 or visit their website www.rif.org.uk
Action
Weave like a snake, making s
shapes, saying sssss.
Action
Wiggle fingers above elbow as
if ants crawling on you, and
say a, a, a!
Action
Children imitate watching
tennis, turning head from side
to side and saying t t t t t.
Action
Hold up index finger, as if it is
a lit candle, and imagine
puffing it out, saying p.
Action
Pretend to be a mouse, by
wiggling fingers on end of your
nose (whiskers), and squeak
i, i, i.
Action
Hold out arms as if an
aeroplane nose diving and say
n n n n n.
Action
Raise hands and snap fingers
together as if playing
castanets, and say k, k, k.
Action
Pretend to hold egg with one
hand, as if cracking it against
the side of a bowl or pan. Use
both hands to open shell,
saying eh, eh, eh.
Action
Act as if panting after a race,
holding hand up to mouth,
and saying h, h, h.
Action
Pretend to be a puppy pulling
a rag, with teeth clenched and
shaking head, saying rrrrr.
Action
Rub tummy, seeing tasty food,
and say mmmmm.
Action
Pretend to hold drum sticks
and beat up and down on a
drum and say d d d d d.
Action
Spiral hand down as if water
gurgling down a plug hole, and
saying g, g, g, gurgle.
Action
Imagine turning switch on and
off, and say o, o; o, o; on, off.
Action
Keep one hand steady and
raise the other, as it raising an
umbrella, and say u .. u .. u ..
up.
Action
Pretend to lick a lolly, saying
l l l l l.
Action
Place one hand above the
other, lower the top hand as if
inflatable fish is deflating, and
say f f f f f f f f f f.
Action
Place hands together as if
batting a ball, and say b, b, b.
Action
Cup hand over ear, as if hard
of hearing, and say ay?
Action
Pretend to be a jelly, and
wobble, saying j, j, j, jelly.
Action
Bring hand up to mouth as if
seeing something go wrong,
and say oh!
Action
Stand to attention and salute,
saying aye, aye.
Action
Pretend to be a donkey braying and saying eeyore, eeyore.
Action
Pretend to be a bee, with
elbows in, and hands flapping,
saying zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Action
Blow onto open hand like the
wind, repeating wh, wh, wh.
Action
Pretend to be a weightlifter,
bringing arms above head, and
say ng ... .
Action
Pretend to be driving along in
a van, saying vvvvv.
Action
Imagine being the cuckoo in a cuckoo clock, jutting head
forward an back, saying the call of the cuckoo: u, oo; u, oo.
Action
Pretend to eat yogurt from a
spoon, saying y, y, yogurt, with
each spoonful.
Action
Pretend to take an x-ray with
an x-ray camera, saying ks, ks,
ks.
Action
Pretend to be a steam train,
moving the arms like piston
rods, and saying ch ... ch ... ch.
Action
Place index finger over lips
and say sh.
Action
Child pretends to be a little
rude by sticking out your
tongue a little and saying th
(as in thumb).
Action
Make a duck’s beak with
hinged hands, and say qu, qu,
qu, quack.
Action
Pretend your finger is a
needle, and prick thumb,
saying ow!
Action
Cup hands around mouth as if
hailing a passing boat, saying
oi!, ship ahoy!
Action
Roll hands over and over each
other, and say er, er (as in the
or her).
Action
Open mouth wide and say ah.
Action
Point to different people
around you, and saying you ..
you .. you.