Phonics
This is when words are broken up into their
constituent sounds. Words can be divided into
sounds which are represented by one, two or
three letters. Although there are only 26 letters
in the alphabet, there are many more sounds that
need to be learnt when you take into account
letter combinations such as oo, ow, ch and th. For
fluent reading and writing, children need to be
fluent in reading these word groups too.
Help your child
with reading.
Rosebank Primary School
How can I get the best out of my child’s reading book?
When you read with your child…
 Make sure that distractions are at a minimum e.g. turn
off the TV.
 Talk about the pictures in the book.
 Praise your child often, at least twice for each line.
 If your child is stuck, don’t push him. If he doesn’t
know it straight away, he probably doesn’t know it.
Help him to look for clues in the picture, or to sound
out the word if it is an easily sounded out word. Praise
him when he gets it right.
 Encourage your child to read with expression. You are a
good role model for this.
 Make this a happy time. You are setting the scene for
his future reading habits.
Get into the habit of choosing a word in the street, the
house or in the car. Think of things that start with the
same letter. Then think of things that rhyme with it.
Lastly clap out the number of syllable that it contains.
There is writing all around you. Take every opportunity
that you have to read the words you find down the street
or on the back of the cereal box. These all add to build
the blocks for happy, fluent reading.
How Do Children Learn to Read?
Look and Say
Sight words are words that
children recognise and read as a whole. Developing
a sight vocabulary helps children to read with
reasonable speed. Environmental print is very
good for developing this skill.
Common Words Common words occur in 50%
of all printed materials that the children will come
across in books etc.. Between Primary 1-3 the
children are taught to read and spell the first
hundred common words. These are used commonly
in the words they see around them too. Drawing
your child’s attention to the words they see in the
environment, is a great way to help to reinforce
these words and will help them to read with
greater ease and fluency.
Toy Sale
Everything must go!
Environmental Print is the print that we see all around us.
For example we see print:
 At home – CORNFLAKES
Baked Beans
Tomato Sauce
 At the Park – LITTER BIN
No Dogs KEEP OFF THE GRASS!
 At the Shops – SPECIAL OFFER!
Sale
REDUCED
 At the station – TICKET OFFICE
Shop
TOILETS
Children are reading all the time, not just in books!
Children can often ‘read’ the words that they see in the
environment, before they get any formal reading teaching.
This is a very valuable part of each child’s education. As
their reading develops they draw on words that they
already know by sight, adding to them by asking for help or
working out what they might say depending on their
context.
In school we encourage children to be more aware of
environmental print through print walks in the school and in
our local area. Parents and carers can do this too each
time they are out for a walk with their children.
The Count Challenge
When your child is reading to you, make a note of how
many times you are encouraging him out loud. Each time
that you read, see if you can beat your record. Make sure
that you are praising every time praise is due. Children
respond to praise more than to anything else. Let them
know you’re pleased with them and let them feel good
about themselves.
The Mistake Debate
It is very easy to jump in and correct your child when they
make a mistake. In fact we are often more ready to do
that than to praise. But stop and listen to the mistake
your child is making. Does he realise that he has made a
mistake and correct himself at the end of the sentence?
If he does praise him, because that shows he is
understanding what he has read.
If he does not correct himself ask yourself, does the
mistake make sense in the context of the story? If it
does, ignore it. If it doesn’t, that is the time to correct
the mistake.
What do you do when it all
goes wrong?
Questions to ask yourself when reading
becomes a battleground
Is reading still a special time?
Are distractions still at a minimum?
Am I praising enough?
Am I helping my child to work out words he is
stuck on without making him feel a failure?
 Does he have to read too much at one time?
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What can we do to help?
Children learn by example and you as their parent
or guardian are the most effective role model
there is. The more that you involve your child in
every day activities the better, and they don’t
realise how much they are learning through being
with you.
 Talk about print in the environment – shop
signs, food wrappers, home products, etc.
 Involve children in shopping in the supermarket,
looking for food labels, prices and signs.
 Involve your child when you write lists such as
shopping lists or Christmas card lists.
 Play simple games like ‘I Spy’.
 Cut out letters from magazines or newspapers
to make signs for their bedroom or kitchen.
(Keep out, is a favourite!)
 Cut out labels and make a ‘snap’ game or memory
game.
 Write a menu for your evening meal or read a
café menu together.