Helping Your Child with Literacy
At Harris Academy Tottenham, children will read their RWI books three times in school before they bring it home to read with you. There are many different activities that you can do to your support your child at home.
Here is some information about some of the activities that you could try. For more information, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher.
Speed sounds
At the front of the book, there are speed sounds which your child can practise reading. A video link here shows how can you practise the speed sounds with your child. https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/help-during-school-closure/. This activity should be fun and only take a minute or two to complete.
Green and red words
Green words are words that are made up of sounds that your child already knows. Your child will say the individual sounds and then blend them together to read the word.
Red words are common words used in the English language, these are words that your child will have been taught to read as a whole word rather than sounding them out.
This video link will provide further guidance about how to help your child at home when reading green and red words. https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/
Reading the story
When your child is reading the story to you, you can help them by:
- Pointing to the words
- Discussing what is happening in the story
- Asking questions to deepen your child’s understanding
- Helping your child to predict what might be happening next.
For more advice and guidance, please click on the video link https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/
Questions to ask when reading
One way you can help your child meet their reading targets is by reading with them every day. You can help by listening to your child read, and then ask some of these questions. Choose the questions that fit best the type of book you’re reading.
- What is the title?
- Can you think of a different title this book could have?
- Why do you think the author chose this title?
- What is the setting (where and when the story happens)?
- What adjectives can you use to describe the setting?
- Does it remind you of any places you’ve been to?
- Why do you think the author chose this setting?
- Who are the characters in the story?
- Which words can you use to describe the main character/s?
- What sort of person is the character? How do you know?
- Do you agree with the choices the character makes in the story? Why or why not? What would you have done?
- What is the story about?
- Describe in your own words what has happened so far in the story?
- Can you retell part of the story (a chapter) from the point of view of another character?
- Can you predict what the book will be about from the title or the cover illustration?
- What do you think will happen next?
- Can you find the index?
- What does the index help you to do?
- Find three facts about…
- How does (character) feel when (something happens)? What words tell you that (character) is feeling that way?
- Why do you think (character) did that?
- What choice would you have made?
- What do you think the author meant when he said…?
- How do you know (characters) are friends/ enemies?
- Does this book have a glossary?
- What does the glossary help you to do?
- Why do you think the author chose to use this illustration?
- How do the arrows, captions, labels in the diagram help you to understand better?
- Is this story fiction or non-fiction? How do you know?
- Why did the author choose to use a question on this page?
- Can you find any speech marks?
- Can you find any punctuation other than commas and full stops?
- Why do you think the author chose the word…?
- Can you find any feeling words?
- Can you find any adverbs?
- Can you fine any time connectives?
- Find the first word in the paragraph: why do you think the author opened the paragraph with that word?
- Who is your favorite character? Why?
- Did you enjoy the story? Why?
- How does that sentence/ paragraph make you feel?
- Why did the author use similes?
- Can you think of a different way to end the story? Which way is better? Why?
- Does the story have a message or teach a lesson?
- What other stories texts does this book remind you of?
- Have you read anything else by this author?
- What do you know about the author?
- If you could ask the author 3 questions about the book, what would you ask?
- If you could be any of the characters, who would you be?
- Would you recommend this book to your friends?
- If you had designed the cover for the book, what would you have put on it?
Happy Reading! And remember… model reading behaviour, set a routine, celebrate all reading!
Reading ideas and support
Storyline Online
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s award-winning children’s literacy website, Storyline Online, streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrationsStoryline Online is available 24 hours a day for children, parents, caregivers and educators worldwide. Each book includes supplemental curriculum developed by a credentialed elementary educator, aiming to strengthen comprehension and verbal and written skills for English-language learners.Click the link here to go to the website: https://www.storylineonline.net/library/
SCHOLASTIC
SCHOLASTIC are offering free home learning resources to help with the COVID-19 outbreak. The project and resources have been created with the aim to “keep kids reading, thinking, and growing.” Visit: https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
PhonicsPlay
Phonics Play are offering free access to several wonderful Phonic resources, including interactive games and activities. Use the login details below to access. www.phonicsplaycomics.co.uk. Username: march20 and password: home
Two Motives
Students and parents can use this website to browse a selection of fiction books from both the primary and secondary school libraries and find instructions for how to access these books online for free. There are some eBooks directly available from the site, and there are also sample chapters and extracts to read, with new material added daily. The website is: www.twomotives.com. Username: HATO. Password: hatolibrary
Teach Your Monster to Read
Visit https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/ for a variety of resources linked to reading letters, sounds and sentences! There are a range of activities and games that can be accessed from a computer at home. Access to this website is free.
Twinkl
Visit the Parents Hub that has been designed for parents to access from home. There are a wide range of Literacy activities that can be accessed including sentence writing and reading, as well as other areas of the curriculum, including maths and science. Explore the Parents Hub here: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/parents
Magic Keys
This online platform provides a range of familiar stories that can be read to children. The words to the stories as well as pictures are given – this gives children the opportunity to practise their reading skills as well as giving parents access to stories for reading sessions. Visit here: http://www.magickeys.com/books/. There are also a range of quizzes available on the site!
ABC Fast Phonics
Visit http://www.abcfastphonics.com/ for some fun, interactive games based on supporting your child’s development within phonics.
Starfall
For great practise reading, visit Starfall for a selection of word and letter games. https://www.starfall.com/h/ltr-classic/
Oliver Jeffers – a book a day
Famous children’s author Oliver Jeffers will be reading a different story every day for all to enjoy. Tune in here daily to enjoy some of his favourite books.
Oxford Owl
For the duration of the school closures, Oxford Owl have made many Ebooks available to support your child with reading. Click this link to brose the different books available.
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page/
Extra reading at home
There are lots of free eBooks to read with your child at home, these can be found by clicking the link below.
- https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page/
- https://literacytrust.org.uk/free-resources/
Phonics
Here is a short video which shows you how we teach the children phonics. You will see the sounds we learn and how we pronounce them.
When we teach our pupils Set 1, 2 and 3 sounds, there is a specific order in which they are taught. The order is this:
Please use this chart to practise with your child at home.
Read Write Inc guide for parents
Please click HERE to access the parents guide as well as lots of resources to help your child with their learning, including Ebooks, practice sheets, Ditty sheets, slideshows and parent films.
Phonic games
For a number of different phonics games you can go to the following websites:
