K-6 Home Reading Tips for Parents
When your child is reading and encounters words that are difficult for them, use the Three Ps technique ‘Pause, Prompt, Praise' to support them.
Pause: when your child comes to a word they don't know, try not to jump in straight away. Wait and give your child time to work out the word.
Prompt:if your child successfully works out the problem word, suggest they go back to the beginning of the sentence and re-read it (to recap meaning) before reading on.
If your child has not worked out the problem word, prompt them with some quick, low-key suggestions. Say things like:
- Think about the story.
- Can you use the picture to help you?
- Are there any sounds or parts of the word that you know?
- What word could make sense there?
If prompts like these are not working, simply tell your child the correct word.
Try not to spend too much time prompting, as your child will find it difficult to maintain the overall meaning of what they are reading.
Praise:praise your child's reading efforts and successes.
Comprehension Prompts for Parents
Questions you could ask your child before reading.
- What do you think this book will be about?
- Why do you think this?
- What do you think will happen to the character on the cover?
- What does the title mean?
- Why do you think the author chose that title?
Examples of questions you could ask your child during reading.
- Why does that boy look so sad?
- What is that mum looking for?
- What does "endangered" mean?
- Where is that dog going?
Ask your child to make predictions. Examples of responses are:
- I think that she will win the race.
- I think that George will tell the truth.
- I think they are going to get lost in there.
Questions you could ask your child after reading.
- Who is the main character?
- Where is the story set?
- Can you tell me what happened in this story?
- What was the problem in the story and how was it resolved?
- Did the character change in the story and how?
- How did the book make you feel?
- What do you like/dislike about the story?
- What was your favourite part?
- What did you learn?
- How did this change the way you think about ….?
- Would you have ended the book in a different way?
- Who else might like it?
Make connections to your own lives:
- That cat reminds me of Jenny's cat.
- This reminds me of that time when we drove to Grandma's house.
- This reminds me of dinner at our house.
Make connections to other books:
- In Goodnight Moon, I notice a picture of the bunnies from Runaway Bunny.
- The Gingerbread Baby is kind of like the story of The Gingerbread Man because they both have to run away from the fox.
Questions for Factual Texts
- What did you learn about _________ (the topic)?
- What are some of the important facts you read about?
- What did you learn from the picture/photograph/chart/etc?
- Give an example of a word from the glossary. (Located at back of book)
- What were the important points made in the text?
- Is this a good title for the piece? Why or why not?
- Look at the sections and read the headings. Do you think this was a good way to organise the information? Why/why not?
- How did the author make this text interesting?
- Look in the text to find some powerful descriptive words. Explain what they mean and why the writer chose to use them.
- Why do you think the author wrote this text?