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“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” |
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- Emilie Buchwald Each day, Reading Recovery students are asked to engage in some reading, writing, and word work at home. Each child carries home a bag containing his/her Reading Recovery homework. You are asked to check that your child has completed each component of the Reading Recovery homework and sign the log on the corresponding day. The bag will need to be returned to school on a daily basis. Completion of the homework is extremely important. The more time your child spends engaged in reading books that he/she is successful at reading; the better he/she will build the independence of a competent reading.
Reading at Home
- Help your child find a quiet, comfortable place to read.
- Have your child see you as a reading model.
- Read aloud to your child. Reread favorite stories.
- Read with your child.
- Discuss the stories you read together.
- Recognize the value of silent reading.
Mem Fox’s Ten Read Aloud Commandments
1. Spend at least ten wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud.
2. Read at least three stories a day: it may be the same story three times. Children need to hear a thousand stories before they can begin to learn to read.
3. Read aloud with animation. Listen to your own voice and don’t be dull, or flat, or boring. Hang loose and be loud, have fun and laugh a lot.
4. Read with joy and enjoyment: real enjoyment for yourself and great joy for the listeners.
5. Read the stories that the kids love, over and over and over again, and always read in the same ‘tune’ for each book: i.e. with the same intonations on each page, each time.
6. Let children hear lots of language by talking to them constantly about the pictures, or anything else connected to the book; or sing any old song that you can remember; or say nursery rhymes in a bouncy way; or be noisy together doing clapping games.
7. Look for rhyme, rhythm or repetition in books for young children, and make sure the books are really short.
8. Play games with the things that you and the child can see on the page, such as letting kids finish rhymes, and finding the letters that start the child’s name and yours, remembering that it’s never work, it’s always a fabulous game.
9. Never ever teach reading, or get tense around books.
10. Please read aloud every day, mums and dads, because you just love being with your child, not because it’s the right thing to do.