Marion McMillan, a family learning development
tutor in Hinckley, describes how her work supports reading
in the home.
"I am currently running a 'Keeping up with the Children'
Literacy programme for parents and carers in an infant school
in Hinckley. I am always keen to encourage them to read
to their children, particularly when the children, infant
or junior, do not show any interest in reading their school
reading book when they come home, or even later, perhaps
at bedtime. From my experience as an ex-primary teacher,
older children also enjoy being read to; storytime at the
end of the school day was always a welcome feature for Year
5 and 6 pupils … and even the parents in my programmes
relax and enjoy children's 'Big Books' being read to them!
During the course of last week's session, parents were
keen to discuss the varying difficulties and tensions each
found in trying to get their children to read, and they
needed some strategies. Today (captured on video!), one
Mum recounted the story of her 13-year-old daughter, who
would not pick up a book and read, and how she had always
struggled to get her to read. Using an idea from last week,
she decided to read her daughter's school book to her, and
then suggested that they read alternate pages. She was absolutely
delighted to see her daughter continue to read on her own,
and with the fact that she has since asked for more books.
| I urge parents and carers to read their
children's books to them using this kind of strategy,
or whatever captures their children's imagination. This
dispels the idea that only the child must read the particular
book in question, and releases both parent and child
to read in a relaxed and engaging way, thus conveying
to the child that both reading and being read to can
be a source of mutual enjoyment. |
 |
I believe that reading to a child introduces them to language,
vocabulary, ideas and creativity, which will act as a deposit
in their personal 'literacy bank' and which they will be able
to recall and use, both in their speech and writing, sooner
or later.
Many years ago (long before the advent of the National
Curriculum), and over the period of the school year, I read
most of the 'Narnia Chronicles' to my class of 8 to 9-year-olds
in a socially deprived school in the south of England. My
headteacher never really approved of the fact that we weren't
appearing to do any 'work' every time she paid us a visit!
Yet, woven in throughout the year, these children developed
the capacity to produce the most amazing creative writing,
using vocabulary rich in its variety, coupled with a high
degree of accuracy in their spelling. I believe this was
attributable to their being exposed to language to which
they would have otherwise not had access."
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