Why reading is important
- Studies show children who are more interested in reading do be4er at school than those who don’t read for pleasure.
- Parents who talk to their children about books, TV programmes and films help to keep their children interested in reading.
- Having books, newspapers and magazines around at home also made a difference to how interested children were in reading.
How to help your child read:
The move from primary to secondary school is an exciting time for parents and children. Your child is growing up and becoming more independent. However, you may be worrying about the extra demands of secondary school and wondering what you can do to help. Many parents feel like this, and it is very natural. This booklet offers you ideas from other parents that you can choose from, to help your child as they move into and through secondary school. One of the best ways you can help your child do well at school is by helping them to enjoy reading for pleasure – whether they like magazines, newspapers, novels or comics. Research shows that children who enjoy reading do be4er at school, and that parents play a key role in helping to develop this love of reading.
Ideas to help them love reading:
- Let your child choose what to read, rather than choosing what you think they should read.
- Encourage your child to read magazines, comics, newspapers and the internet as well as books.
- Talk to your child about books or magazines you haven’t enjoyed, as well as things you love.
- Make time to read together if you can.
- Buy books as presents. Don’t forget TV tie-ins and books about interests such as computer games or bands.
- Remember that your child is reading when they are looking at bus timetables, menus, instructions, TV guides, and the internet.
Preparing for reading at secondary school:
Your child may be looking forward to the challenges of a new, ‘big’ school, or may feel worried about the work. You can help support your child’s reading by making them the ‘expert’ and getting them to tell you about all the things they already know and can do.
Instant ideas:
- Help your child to find books they will enjoy by joining the public library, if you are not already members. It is free to join and many libraries – there is a guide to your local libraries in your child’s pupil passport. They are free to join and many libraries have CDs and DVDs that can be borrowed very cheaply, as well as many different types of books that can be borrowed for free.
- Read together. Try picking reading material about interests or hobbies you share, like your football team or a place you have visited together. 10 minutes a few times a week will make a difference.
- Talk to your child about the types of reading they think they will be asked to do in secondary school; get them to explain to you what they already know about types of non-fiction (factual writing), and try to match them to the subjects your child does at school.
- Chat about which books or magazines your child might read, to learn more about the subjects they will be doing at secondary school.
- Buy a book, book token or magazine as a present/reward.
- Try some skimming and scanning together. Skimming is when you read through a piece of text quickly to find out what the main idea is; scanning is glancing through a piece of text to find a specific piece of information. You can do this with a newspaper – perhaps ask your child to find something out for you. Why not ask them to scan a newspaper for news about a favourite footballer or to find out the weekend weather, or get them to skim read a recipe to tell you the basic steps?
- Help your child to work out what an unfamiliar word means by getting them to read the rest of the sentence and look for clues.
- Help by testing your child when they have spellings to learn, and by encouraging them to look up words they don’t know in a dictionary.
Parent power: Parents make the difference, say experts. A recent study has found that children who were reading to their parents improved their reading skills a great deal, even if the parents could not read English or read at all in any language.
Book Trust promotes children’s reading and produces a wide range of information for young readers, including booklists.
British Dyslexia Association is the national organisation for specific learning difficulties. It represents over two million dyslexic children and adults. It is one of the world’s leading dyslexia organisations.
Family Lives is a charity working with parents and families offering advice and information about a range of parenting issues.