Importance of Home Reading

Dear Parents,

As students get older, home reading is still equally as important as when they were learning how to read in the early years of schooling. I would like to encourage you to revisit home reading with your child and ensure they are reading out loud daily with guidance and support. 

A research study on independent reading and young students by Nagy and Herman shows that simply reading for 20 minutes every day can significantly increase the chances of your child’s educational success in the future.

Learning to read is about listening and understanding as well as working out what’s printed on the page. Through hearing stories, children are exposed to a wide range of words. This helps them build their own vocabulary and improve their understanding when they listen, which is vital as they start to read. It’s important for them to understand how stories work too. Even if your child doesn’t understand every word, they’ll hear new sounds, words and phrases which they can then try out, copying what they have heard.

As children start to learn to read at school, you can play an important role in helping to keep them interested in books. Find out what interests them, help them to find books that will be engaging and fun, and spend time reading the books they bring home from school together.

Thank you and happy reading!

Mrs Caris Szczepanik and Miss Papalia