IMPROVING YOUR CHILD'S READING SKILLS

Children learn to love reading from their parents. The more your read with your child, the better their language skills will be! We have provided some practical tips below to help you improve your child’s reading skills.

Early Years

• Make story time a part of your day
  
• Re-read your child's favourite books
• Point out print everywhere you go
• Let your child turn the pages
• Talk about what is happening in the pictures
• Be interactive and ask your child questions about what is happening in the story
• Point out that we read from left to right
• Read to your child with lots of emotion
• Give everything around you a name
• Read books with rhymes and alliterations
• Have your child point to and name letter sounds in materials
  

Primary Years

• Make story time a part of your day
• Re-read your child's favourite books
• Make connections between stories read and real life
• Play board games
• Keep a variety of different reading materials at home – newspapers, magazines, etc.
• Read a recipe together and cook
• Have your child read your grocery list to you while at the store
• Give your child books about their interests
• Take your child to the library
• Ask your child to make predictions about the story
• Before reading the book, have your child look at the pictures
• Give your child strategies to use when they are stuck on a word:

          a) Sound it out      
          b) Look at the picture
          c) Re-read the sentence
          d) Blend the sounds

• Stay positive, be patient and wait for your child to figure it out
• Read a sentence and have your child repeat it
• Ask your child questions to ensure comprehension:

          a) What was the problem?
          b) How was the conflict resolved?
          c) How do the characters feel?

• Have your child summarize the events in the correct order
• Let your child express their opinions about what they have just read. Did they enjoy the story? Why or why not?

Have you tried any other successful ideas at home? Share with us!

Explore Other Tips for Parents

Teaching Your Child to Read Without a Struggle
Improving Your Child's Writing Skills
Improving Your Child's Speaking & Listening Skills
Helping Your Child Learn a Foreign Language
Helping Your Child Maintain Their Mother Tongue