Kae McCaull, Head of Primary
Last week, I discussed the science of reading and its five fundamental elements: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension.
Reading is a complex skill, and our reading programs at Kuyper teach these essential elements explicitly and systematically, progressively building students’ literacy competency.
Practice is fundamental to building reading skills. As homework kicks off for all our classes, one of the key ways parents can support young readers is by listening to them read aloud daily. Faithfully doing this will not only build wonderful attitudes towards learning but also give your children the practice they need to master developing literacy skills. Older students also need to be encouraged to keep reading regularly with texts appropriate to their age and level of reading.
In addition to supporting our children in reading regularly, there are other things that we can do to encourage success in building their vital literacy skills.
Read to your children
In particular, read books your child cannot yet read for themselves. This builds vocabulary as you discuss new and interesting words you come across together. It develops interest and enjoyment in reading. As you read, make predictions about what might happen next and discuss the sequence of events or the reasons behind the characters’ actions. These strategies encourage students to think about and comprehend what they are reading.
Ask questions
Check that your children have understood what they (or you) have read, and allow them to generate questions for you. Be aware that developing questions is a much harder cognitive skill and will take lots of practice. If children ask a question not answered in the text, you could pretend to look for it and say something like,
“I don’t know. It doesn’t tell me in the book, but if I were the character, I would…”
Read Fiction and Non-Fiction
This helps children understand that we can read to learn about new things or things we are interested in. Some children prefer reading and hearing non-fiction books. All reading is beneficial.
Use and explore language
Talk about what you see happening in the world around you and look for opportunities to introduce new words into your discussion. This will allow your children to hear new words in context and ask you about their meaning. Students with a greater vocabulary better comprehend what they are reading.
Let them see you reading in real life
For example, reading a recipe or instructions and using a Google search to learn about something.
Whilst these things do not replace our children’s reading, they provide wonderful support for the hard work they are doing.
As we work together to help your children become proficient readers and writers, please talk with your child’s teacher if you have any concerns or questions. Celebrate your child’s success with them, even if it’s as small as mastering one new tricky word, reading a new book, or sticking with it when it is challenging. Feel free to share their successes so we can celebrate with you. Mastering the skill of reading is something we can all celebrate.