Reading is the cornerstone for learning in all areas of the curriculum. Pre-reading skills are the skills children need in order to help them to become a reader. Many of these skills are learnt naturally, during the course of a normal childhood, at home and in the nursery/preschool environment. 1.Matching: When we read, part of what we do involves matching. Children learn to match shapes, patterns, letters and, finally, words using the following activities: Card games Dominoes Activity books which involve matching shapes, pictures and letters Pairing up socks from the laundry Shape sorters Jigsaw puzzles 2.Rhyming: Research shows that children who can understand about rhyming words have a head start in learning to read and, even more, to spell. Sing nursery rhymes Miss of the end of rhymes for your child to complete, e.g. "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great...?" When that gets too easy for them, make it harder! "Humpty Dumpty sat in a tree, Humpty Dumpty had a cup of...?" Play rhyming games such as "I Spy with my little eye, something that rhymes with fox" (box). 3. Letter skills: As well as recognising letter shapes, learning the most common sounds that each letter makes will give children a head start. Introduce letters and their sounds gradually Start with letters that are important to your child, such as their initial, all those with an interesting shape which makes them easy to recognise. Use letter sounds rather than names - 'a for ant', not 'ay for ape'. Letter sounds are much more useful in learning to read than names. Generally, stick to lower case letters to start with, except for the first letter of a name. Try using magnetic letters 4.Direction: Print goes from left to right, so children will need to be familiar with where to start each line and which direction to go. When reading to your child, follow the print with your finger. Later, you can ask them where you should start - try reading the words in reverse order, to demonstrate that the story doesn't make sense if you don't start in the right place. 5.Concepts of print: This is all about knowing how to handle books - holding them the right way up, turning the pages in sequence, exploring the pictures, knowing that the words can be read to tell a story. Reading books with your child is the best way to help them learn how to handle books. Have a special place where books are kept, which is within your child's reach. Visit the library. Talk about the books you read - point out the title, ask them what they think the book will be about, etc.

How is reading taught at school? At Tref y Rhyg Primary, we follow the Foundation Phase Framework and Curriculum 2008 to teach reading. Children are taught the key skills of reading through whole class shared reading, small group guided reading sessions and by listening to them read individually. Every child will be listened to at least once a week by the class teacher or another adult at the school. A record of their progress will be kept and targets discussed with the child. The children will bring a reading record book home and we would encourage you to make a comment in the book. Read,Write,inc The phonics scheme we use in school is based upon ‘synthetic’ phonics, which you may have read about. Children are introduced to 2 new sounds each week. They see the letter, how it is written and learn an action while saying the sound it makes. This helps the child learn the sounds more quickly. When the first six sounds (phonemes) have been learned the children begin to blend them to make simple words; s a t i p n – sat, pin, tin, tap etc This approach to phonics continues throughout the Foundation Phase, with the addition of books to further support their learning. At KS 2, RWInc continues to be used but with a more extensive range of spelling patterns e.g ough etc.

Tips for encouraging children when they are trying to figure out a word or get stuck Always give readers a few seconds to have a think first, unless it’s a really unusual word or name. Decoding strategies- questions to help your child 1.What sound does it begin with? 2.Can you sound the letters out? 3.FRED SPELLING 4.Try reading the sentence again from the beginning. 5.Is there a clue in the picture that can help decode the word? If a child is still stuck on a word that cannot be built up e.g brought, tell them the word. Helping children understand what they are reading about A good reader understands what they are reading about which is a higher order skill of reading. This can be developed through questioning about the characters, events or the vocabulary that has been chosen for effect. Here are some examples of questions that you could ask to extend your child’s reading skills over a period of time: How did …happen? When/where did the story take place? What is the character like? Which part of the story best describes the character/setting? Explain how the author made the character seem e.g angry/sad. Can you invent a new title? Can you predict what will happen next? Can you tell me what you think about …? What can you find to support your opinion? Could the story be improved? How? Would you recommend the story? Why? What word could you use instead of…..? How would you feel if….? What would you have done if you were…?

Top Tips Make reading a pleasure Enjoy and share books together in a quiet area Be positive Stop when they have had enough Let your child see you reading for pleasure Borrow books from the local library to reduce costs of buying new books If you have any queries about your child’s reading or you want advice on how to help your child with their reading, the class teacher will be happy to help. Useful websites dwritetogether How Parents Can Help With Reading The greatest gift that you can give children is to read to them from a very early age and encourage them to develop a love of reading