Jj is for Jottings 151. Daily Reading Time.
Daily reading time for children is much more important than just reading books leading to a longer life. It makes sense that children who read more have better vocabulary, reading skills, fluency, reading comprehension and overall literacy. It can also strengthen family relationships and helps children to understand the world outside. So just how many minutes per day should we be reading with our children? Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 131. Learning Vocabulary.
Learning vocabulary – the words a person knows and uses – is a lifelong process. Talking to and reading with your child right from the start is a good recipe for a child to develop a rich vocabulary. I have talked about vocabulary in previous articles, mainly in the context of reading with children and children reading for themselves. But, given that vocabulary is so important, I thought it was worth going into a little further.
Learning Vocabulary. The User Guide in “Aa is for Alpacas” explains how to use the book to enhance vocabulary skills.
Jj is for Jottings 116. Children Who Own Books Read More.
Children who own books are six times more likely to read. And they are more likely to read above the expected level for their age. The UK-based charity, The National Literacy Trust, did a survey of more than 56,000 children from all over the UK, ranging from ages 9 to 18. The survey revealed that 22 % of children who own books read above the expected level for their age. But only 3.6% of children who did not own a book read above the expected age level. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 111. Word Confusions: Ton/Tonne; Home/Hone.
For all the reasons given in the article on punctuation, clear communication is important, since that is the whole point: to get your message across to the listener/reader. Many people confuse similar words, which undermines their message. There will be articles from time to time on this topic, beginning with the word confusions Ton/Tonne; Home/Hone. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 107. The Dreaded Apostrophe.
I don’t know why people seem to view it as “the dreaded apostrophe” and have so much trouble with it, more than any other form of punctuation. (For comments on the importance of punctuation in social media, see here.) The basic applications of the apostrophe are really quite easy. Granted, it can get a bit tricky in more advanced situations, but the majority of the population would rarely encounter that end of the scale. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 106. Strategies to Encourage Listening to Sounds in Words.
In the previous article I said that I would discuss general strategies to encourage listening to sounds in words, rather than visualising them. As I said, I have found no hard and fast rules, but these types of activities are helpful.
Shanti is coming to tell us all about strategies to encourage listening to sounds in words.
Jj is for Jottings 99. Print Books are Better than Digital Books for Toddlers.
The question of whether print books are better than digital books for toddlers is a concern for many parents who are looking to do the best by their children. Here are two pieces of evidence, one anecdotal and one from research, which will answer this question. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 97. Reading-Aloud Games.
Following on from interactive reading with children, here are some ideas for “reading-aloud games” which you can play with children while reading stories with them. The idea is to be spontaneous, just playfully engaging in banter whilst actually providing wonderful learning opportunities as a bonus. It may sound strange, saying to be spontaneous and then making suggestions as to what to do. But it is helpful to see the types of games you can play and, once you have the idea, you can invent your own activities in the moment. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 96. Interactive Reading With Children.
There is a difference between reading to children and reading with children. Reading TO children is just that – reading a story without any sort of discussion or interaction. (For disquieting statistics on reading to children, see here.) On the other hand, interactive reading with children, or reading WITH children, is an active process rather than a passive one. In this case, you are encouraging the child to think, predict, remember and discuss the story, and other related topics may also arise. Therefore it has all the benefits of reading to children, plus many more.
Too young for interactive reading with children, but the right age to start reading TO her.
Jj is for Jottings 88. Hearing Loss Effects on Speech, Language and Literacy.
Hearing loss effects on Violet’s speech, language and literacy? None, because at this stage there is no evidence to suppose that Violet has a hearing loss. And Simon is certainly getting her off to a flying start with speech, language and literacy by reading “Aa is for Alpacas” to her.
Moving on from discussing fluctuating hearing loss in the previous article, we now turn our attention to the effects of hearing loss on speech, language and literacy. Continue reading
