Tips on "Guiding Early Readers"

It is so important for children to enjoy the experience of reading from an early age. I encourage you to talk through the book with your child before they read it alone. You can enjoy the pictures and talk naturally to introduce the language that they will later come across when they read the book. Most importantly, this will help prepare your child for the way the story unfolds.

Before reading the book

Look at the front cover & talk about the picture and the title of the book you are about to read with your child. This will help prompt the prediction of the story. The book example I have used is a title asking a question ‘Where is Jen?’
When reading the title with your child, see if they can read any word/s, check for sounds they can hear at the beginning, middle or end of a word in the title e.g. ‘Where is Jen?’ Jen begin with J, and you can sound out the word, ‘ Jen.’
Discuss the role of the author and the illustrator.

Reading the first page in the book

For very early readers, point to where you will start reading on the first page. You can question your child, ‘Which page will I read first? Where do I start reading and where do I go next?’
Guide discussion to fit the text and the illustration on the first page. e.g. Does it fit what the title says, what else do you see?

Continue through the book

Support and observe your child so that they can monitor their own reading.
Encourage slow and careful reading in order for your child to comprehend the text on each page.
Praise attempts of self-correction, as well as prompt them to use reading strategies (sound / letter knowledge), cues to solve problems (repetition of text) and respond to any reading challenges that arise in the text (high frequency words, punctuation and the meaning of words).
Ask your child to infer meaning from the illustrations. Question what they can see. e.g. How did you know this word is shed? Could she hide somewhere else? Who is searching for her?
Interruptions to your child’s reading should be minimal.
During this time take a mental note on your child’s learning needs.

After reading - Explore Comprehension

Return to the text and ask questions for your child to respond. Encourage your child to support their answers using evidence in the book.
Explore the following language features in the book with your child. High frequency words ( is, I, am, and, the, where, here, look), plurals and the punctuation used in the text.
Go back through the book and compare the illustrations they have seen on the other pages to the final illustration at the end of the book.

Nicole teaches Fun Family Phonics locally in Burleigh which makes learning to read and write a fun and creative adventure! Classes are available for children 4 years of age and up. She offers a patient, proactive approach to teaching the children phonics with an opportunity in each class to see, speak, hear, write and bring into play the new letters they learn.

For more information on Nicole’ s classes phone her on 0403 962 053 or email.