Reading with Your Child

Key Stage Two

 When and where?

• Choose a time convenient to both of you
• Choose a comfortable, quiet place where you will not be distracted
• Try to have a regular reading time
• About ten to fifteen minutes each day or every other day often works better than longer sessions less frequently
• Smile and give lots of praise—reading is still hard work, even when you are reading well.

Remember that helping your child to read is not ‘cheating’, but will help them to enjoy the experience!

When reading together…

• Discuss what the book could be about, which genre it belongs to
• Encourage your child by asking them questions to check their understanding as they read
• Make predictions about what could happen next
• Discuss favourite characters and events
• Ask your child to retell parts of the story
• Ask your child whether the book reminds them of any other stories or books they have read

What should I do if my child gets stuck?

• Ask your child to read the sentence so far—can they predict the word?
• Can they break the word into sounds or syllables and ‘re-build’ afterwards?
• What kind of word would make sense?
• Does the word look like any other words they know?
• Read up to the word, leave out this word, and read on to the end. What word would make sense?
• Sometimes you can read the word to your child so they don’t lose the thread of what they are reading
• It is particularly helpful if children can combine some of the above strategies to help them tackle unknown and unfamiliar words