As your child moves from Junior to Senior Infants, they will begin to delve deeper into the world of literacy and their development in reading becomes even more vital. The Primary Language Curriculum requires your child to begin listening and participating in various forms of reading, whilst starting to develop an understanding of words, meanings, interpretations and even illustrations. Reading books and other printed materials will become a pivotal part of your child’s educational experience, and you are probably wondering how you can support them through Senior Infants and beyond.
Activity books can provide excellent resources for engaging children in their learning process and monitoring their reading abilities over the course of the school year. This article will detail some of the ways you can support your child with their reading and highlight some excellent activity books to aid their development.
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Supporting your Senior Infant with their reading
A great way to improve your child’s literacy is to make reading a part of their daily routine. Children respond well to repetition and routine, so introducing reading as a consistent feature of your child’s life outside of school hours not only helps them adjust to the idea of reading regularly but also allows you to track their progress. Reading a story before bed works for many parents but if your child struggles to concentrate at this time, try reading together in the mornings before school or after dinner.
Additionally, encourage your child to read materials related to the topics or genres they find most interesting. Reading complicated and unfamiliar texts can be overwhelming (and boring!) for many young children. Combining literacy with the ability to explore topics your child enjoys demonstrates that reading can be fun and encourages them to pursue this activity for the sake of their own enjoyment rather than studying.
Young children are very visual learners and illustrations are great at capturing their attention. Illustrations are a brilliant aid for Senior Infants in the early stages of literacy development, and they encourage you to discuss the link between what your child is reading and what is happening in the pictures before them.
Resources such as the Jolly Dictionary are great for demonstrating how the same description can be achieved through several different words, some of which your child likely won’t have heard before. This will help them understand word families and the relationships between words, and can help expand their knowledge of the vast world of language.
Children love stories with humorous and dramatic characters. Don’t hesitate to be silly or exaggerative when reading different characters through actions and voices—this will undoubtedly make reading more fun for your child and encourage a more positive attitude towards this activity.
Many children are reluctant to read due to disinterest, reading challenges and other obstacles. One of the most important things is to be understanding and supportive of their process. You know your child better than anyone and will be the best person for finding what works for their development. Their teachers may also be able to provide some insight into how your child approaches and interacts with printed materials at school so that you can introduce some of their techniques for consistency.
Finding the right reading activity book for your child
The right activity book can be a perfect way to aid your child’s experience of reading and encourage their development.
Any activity book for a child in Primary School should be packed with engaging exercises and games that are as informative as they are enjoyable. As well as outlining how children should be able to recognise themselves as readers, Primary Language Curriculum suggests children should be encouraged to read with, listen and talk to their peers about written texts. Look for activity books that include collaborative exercises as well as plenty of creative independent learning opportunities.
Some children may struggle more than others when it comes to reading due to challenges such as dyslexia. There are many activity books available that cater to different abilities and reading levels, making learning more inclusive and accessible. Consider books produced for differentiation or featuring fonts, page layouts, sizing and line spacing designed specifically for more foundation-level readers.
Finally, books with regular tests and evaluations will allow you to see how well your child has improved over the course of their reading programme. This then enables you to identify their strongest and weakest areas, and make more meaningful suggestions for further development.
Literacy activity books
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Five main writing genres (procedure, recount, exposition, narratives and reports) are covered in this book which thoroughly teaches all aspects of literacy including reading, oral language, spelling, comprehension and writing. This is a great book to increase development across all areas of literacy. |
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The Word Wise series is written by Primacy School teachers and focuses on developing vocabulary, oral language, comprehension, grammar, phonics and writing. Word Wise B for Senior Infants is divided into sections, each focusing on a different element of the Primary Language Curriculum. |
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This is a complete English language programme that uses a thematic approach to teaching reading, writing and oral language. It is fully aligned with the Primary Language Curriculum. |
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This follow-up to A Way with Words for Junior Infants aids the progression of oral language skills, reading readiness, prewriting skills and basic letter formation. It is accompanied by graded activities to not only keep your child interested in their learning, but to also track and evaluate their progress to help further improvement. |
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Big Box Adventures is designed to stimulate and develop Senior Infant literacy skills across fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Engaging activities such as sustained symbolic play, role-play, and imaginative play are guaranteed to make learning both enjoyable and informative. |
Folens complete reading programmes
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Starlight – Senior Infants – Foundation Level Readers 1-4 Pack |
This set provides an easier level of reading, with each book containing the same content, characters and pictures as the Core Readers. They create a sense of story and familiarity to help improve your child’s reading through repetitive learning. |
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Reading and activity books 3-6 in this series (following on from books 1 and 2 for Junior Infants) gradually introduce new words to practice and build confidence in reading. They are full of inventive stories and loveable characters to spark children’s interest. Each reading book has an accompanying activity book featuring exercises such as colouring, matching, sequencing and visual/auditory discrimination. |
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All your child’s favourite Reading Zone activity books in one great selection, offering endless learning and enjoyment for the Senior Infants level. |
