Reading
Why is reading important? We read: For enjoyment For study For information …throughout our lives.
To understand text: Words need to be recognised Words need to be understood Relevant background knowledge needs to be activated Inferences need to be generated as information is gained whilst reading
Simple View of Reading
Reading at KS2: what do we do? Guided reading – groups and activities Eddie Carron Books and other texts as a basis for writing activities in English and other subjects Reading comprehension activities related to the books and texts we read Book Clubs Assessments, including end of KS2 tests (formerly SATs)
Reading with your children. Decoding Comprehension Setting –bed?!!! THE GOOD AND THE BAD!!!
How can you help? Encourage reading for pleasure Read regularly with your child - they are not too old for a bedtime story! (This allows you to model fluency, expression and use of punctuation) Ask questions: ‘What do you think this word means?’ ‘What do you think will happen next?’ ‘Who was responsible for…?’ ‘Do you think they were right to…?’ Discuss the meaning of new words Discuss the meaning of any figurative language Ask them to predict what will happen
What strategies can your child use? Self regulated strategies Re-read Look back Mental Imagery Think aloud Self-explanation
Enjoy reading with your child; don’t make it a chore – make it fun!! Use the strategies above as you read with your child, not as a list of tasks to work through. Enjoy books, talk about them, read old books, new books, fiction, non-fiction, picture books, comics and more! Use Kindles/e-readers etc. PS – Eddie Carron How can you help your child with all this?
Other tips Identify unfamiliar words or phrases in the text Build banks of new words Identify themes or information Highlight specific words or phrases that build a picture of a character, mood or setting
Inference Inferences are fundamental to successful reading comprehension. Knowledge-based inferences apply real- world knowledge to explicit information given. Such inferences form a link between ideas that are clearly stated and those that are left implicit. For example, consider the following text: ‘
‘ The campfire started to burn uncontrollably. Tom grabbed a bucket of water.’ In order to understand why ‘Tom grabbed a bucket of water’, we must relate the second sentence to the first, ‘The campfire started to burn uncontrollably’. Readers generate the inference that Tom was trying to put the campfire out. To do this, we must first activate the idea that ‘water puts out fire’ from real-world knowledge. Without generating this inference the two sentences are disjointed and do not form a coherent whole. In this example, the explanation is left implicit in the text itself.
Reading with the Electronic Library Differentiated programmes Within programmes, options of difficulty level Comprehension exercises Option to install at home