Literacy - How you can support your child at home

---

Reading

Encouraging your child to read at home is a great opportunity to develop their reading skills by improving their fluency and comprehension. If you’re helping your child to select books from your local library, encourage them to be adventurous. It’s good to read a variety of titles, including fiction and non-fiction

With your child, you could:

• read together regularly, choosing from a wide range of stories, poems, and non-fiction texts (ask your child’s teacher and local library for suggestions)
• help them break words into parts when they’re unsure how to read them or understand their meaning
• have them read out loud, encouraging them to self-correct words they’re unsure of and to experiment with pace and expression
• encourage them to read out loud using different voices, pauses, and tones, and talk about how these changes affect the meaning
• look up the meanings of unfamiliar words
• encourage them to think about the characters and ideas in what they read, and ask them to explain how these have shaped their thinking
• encourage them to find out more about a topic of interest by reading information in books and online, and to share with you what they have learned.

Writing

With your child, you could:

• proofread a sample of your writing or theirs, encourage them to ask about any words they’re unsure of, and to share ideas on how to improve the language and structure
• practise their handwriting skills by writing a thank-you card or letter to a friend or family member
• edit a piece of their writing by choosing different words and changing sentence structures
• practise keyboard skills by typing and publishing their work on a computer at home or in the library.
• research a topic that interests them using notes from 3 different texts, compare the information, and create a plan for writing a report
• write a recipe for their favourite meal, asking them to use their best handwriting and correct grammar. They could give it as a gift to a friend or whānau member.