Working with your children
Infants to 1st Class
- Read to your child as often as you can
- Talk about books/characters/plots
- Enrol your child in the local library
- Provide a good role model by reading yourself/other family members
- Keep audio tapes of familiar stories to play in the car
- Vary the type of books read – stories/poems/information
- Accept your child’s efforts with praise
- Concentrate on what he/she got right
- Make reading together enjoyable
- Take part in school based activities like ‘Shared Reading’
2nd Class to 4th Class
- Continue to read to your child every day
- Read some of the books your child enjoys so you can discuss it with him/her
- Encourage your child to read to younger brothers/sisters
- Ensure that your child knows that you value and enjoy reading yourself
- Make sure that there is a wide variety of reading material in your home – newspapers, magazines, information, cookery, books etc
- Enrol and encourage your child to visit the local library once a week
- Discuss favourite authors
- Encourage your child to read articles/headlines in newspapers
- Encourage your child to guess unknown words
- Praise your child’s efforts
5th Class to 6th Class
- Encourage your child to visit the local library as often as possible
- Recognise and praise your child’s efforts in reading
- Ensure your child has access to a wide range of reading material – newspapers, magazines, guides etc
- Take an interest in different children’s authors
- Discuss ideas and points of view proposed by newspaper articles etc
- Provide a well-lit study/reading area
- Ensure that you value and enjoy reading yourself
- Allow your child to choose his/her own reading material
- Encourage your child to read for information – timetables/weather forecasts/menus
- Encourage your child to try and guess unknown words
Writing with your children
Junior Infants to 1st Class
- Model writing yourself – shopping lists/letters/cards etc
- Provide a special place for your child to write/scribble, provide a variety of materials – crayons/markers/pencils
- Display your child’s name as often as possible i.e. Séan’s Room
- Teach your child the letters of his/her own name
- Provide alphabet books friezes
- Write messages/reminders to your child
- Encourage child to write his/her own messages using the computer
- Praise your child’s efforts
- Ask child to read their own messages
- Respond to the messages and not to grammar and spelling
2nd Class to 4th Class
- Praise your child’s efforts – respond to the message and not spelling/handwriting grammar
- Look for opportunities for purposeful writing activities at home – writing greeting cards/notes/telephone messages
- Encourage your child to use a word processor/computer
- Provide a quiet writing/study area for your child well equipped with pencils/paper
- Encourage your child to keep a diary
- Support your child’s spelling attempts
- Encourage him/her to have a go at spelling difficult words
- Use scrapbooks to support the child’s hobby/special interests. Presents that support writing
- Make sure your child has a dictionary to help with writing
- Help child fill in personal details on forms etc
5th Class to 6th Class
- Encourage your child to keep a diary. Respect privacy
- Encourage your child to write for real purposes everyday – shopping lists/phone messages etc
- Praise the effort and respond to the message and not the handwriting/grammar
- Make sure that your child has access to a dictionary/thesaurus to help with writing
- Allow your child to work on a word processor
- Try crossword puzzles and “Find the Word” puzzles
- Provide a range of attractive writing materials – coloured pens/fancy paper
- Encourage your child to write greeting cards/thank you notes etc
- Encourage your child to take part in writing competitions/community projects
- Show your child that you value writing by writing yourself
Developing Oral Language with your child
Junior Infants to 1st Class
- Listen to what your child is saying/trying to say and respond to contributions
- Make and maintain eye contact while talking with your child
- Explain the meaning of words
- Talk through activities
- Talk through everyday experiences
- Involve your child in discussions/plans
- Ask/answer questions
- Teach your child nursery rhymes/songs/poems/raps
- Develop your child’s receptive language by asking him/her to follow simple instructions
- Assist your child to express ideas in an orderly fluent way
- Read to your child each night
2nd Class to 4th Class
- Set aside 10-15 minutes to discuss the day’s happenings
- Encourage your child to express and justify opinions
- Involve your child in adult conversation when appropriate
- Talk about your child’s favourite TV programme
- Play language games which focus on words i.e. Scrabble/Crosswords
- Encourage your child to talk about experiences with a wide range of people; peers/relations/other adults
- Listen carefully and clarify meaning ‘Do you mean/Is this what you mean?’
- Encourage your child to give reasons for decisions
- Encourage your child to listen courteously to the opinions of others
- Talk about school topics and assignments
5th Class to 6th Class
- Encourage your child to develop a positive attitude to speaking/listening
- Discuss your child’s school work – successes/concerns/interests
- Respect your child’s opinions and feelings
- Involve your child in adult conversations, when appropriate
- Help your child to extend his/her range of words in specialised subjects
- Encourage your child to listen and respond courteously to others
- Watch and discuss TV news/current affairs programmes together
- Assist your child to locate information in local library/internet
- Talk about school topics and assignments
- Play commercial games that focus on word building
