According to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) of 2016, almost 80% of South African Grade 4 learners do not understand what they read. One cause of this is that many teachers are overwhelmed by large classes, and another is that schools lack resources. As a parent, you can help by preparing your pre-school child for reading. One way of helping your child is by developing their spoken vocabulary and emergent literacy skills.
This can be done by encouraging your child to speak and tell their own stories, to ask questions. Read and speak to your child and make them aware that words make up sounds. Ensure your child makes the connection between letters and the sounds using songs nursery rhymes, reading aloud and playing simple word games. You can also use Oxford’s Reading Tree: Floppy’s Phonics Sound and Letters Programme.
Once your child can read words, it’s an easy step to reading sentences. The pre-reading skills you have managed to instil in your child before they start school will help smooth their path to becoming independent, confident and fluent readers – leading to better academic performance.
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