TEACHING AND LEARNING COORDINATOR

Dear Parents/Guardians,

In the early primary years – from Foundation to Year 3–children continue to learn how to read, which is a complex process that is difficult for some and easy for others. Take care during these years and encourage your child to practice reading every day. Reading for pleasure and interest will help your child to develop reading skills and will give your child the opportunity to practice these skills in meaningful ways.

Sirius College follows Reading Eggs as a reading program which has heaps of reading resources to supplement the reading program at home. Please encourage your child to use the program as much as possible. In addition to the tasks assigned by the teachers, students can do many activities based on spellings, writing and reading.

Some ways to encourage your school-age child to read are listed below.

• Encourage your child to read on her own at home

Reading at home can help your child do better in school.

• Encourage your child to practice reading aloud

Frequently listen to your child read out loud and praise her/him often. Offer to read every other page or even every other chapter to your child. Have conversations and discussions about the book with your child.

• Establish a reading time, even if it's only 20 minutes each day

Make sure there is a good reading light in your child's room and stock their bookshelves with books and magazines that are easy to both read and reach.

• Talk with your child

Talking makes children think about their experiences more and helps them to expand their vocabularies. Ask your child to give detailed descriptions of events and to tell complete stories.

• Give your child writing materials

Reading and writing go hand in hand. Children want to learn to write and to practice writing. Encourage them to do some writing activities on their own.

• Restrict television time

The less time your child spends watching television, the more time he will have for reading-related activities.

• Visit the library once a week

Have your child apply for her own library card so she can check out books on her own for schoolwork and for pleasure reading. Ask your child to bring home a library book to read to a younger sibling.

Please ensure that children read every day. Improved reading and comprehension skills can help them in improving their performance in other subjects as well.

Thank you for your ongoing help and support.