Tips for helping your child with reading at home

• Make reading fun! Ensure all their reading experiences are enjoyable.
• Accept and praise your child’s attempts to read, especially new words and sentences
• Make reading a special time, when you and your child can enjoy reading together
• Encourage your child to read with you when reading familiar stories
• Read anything and everything. Reading is about books and much more about signs, advertisements, recipes, newspapers
• Talk about books that you both enjoy

...and for experienced readers

• Be proud of your child’s success in reading
• Encourage them to be regular library users
• Give books for presents
• Encourage your child to discuss books they have read and enjoyed

Asking questions about a book

Choosing a book:

• Why did you choose this book?
• Did you like the picture on the front?
• Have you read other books by this author?
• What could this book be about?

Before reading the book:

• Can you point to the title? Or what is this? (pointing to the title)
• What do you think this story will be about? What might happen in the story?
• What do we call the writing at the back of the book? (Blurb) or What does the blurb tell us?
• Talk about the different parts of the books ( front cover, back cover, title, author, blurb, illustrator)
• If it is an information book, ask them where you will find out about something specific (ie. Can the child use the Contents page or Index to locate information?)

During the reading of the book:                                                                                     

• Tell me what is happening in the pictures?
• What has happened so far? Is it what you expected to happen?
• What might happen next? How do you think the story might end?
• What sort of character is...? Is he/she friendly, mean...?
• Ask your child about events in the story: How would you feel if you had been that character? Has anything like that happened to you? Would you like that to happen to you?
• If reading an information book: What facts have you read? Have you learnt anything new? What does this page tell you about? Is there anything that interests you on this page? Where would you go to find information about...?

At the end of the book:

• What was your favourite part?
• What was the most interesting/exciting part of the book? Can you find it?
• What sort of character is...?
• Why did that character do...( give a situation/event from the story)?
• What happened in the story?
• Are there any words or phrases that you enjoyed?
• Did the pictures help you understand the story better?