Talking books
Few things are more important than reading aloud to our children. It’s great for their education and it’s fun. What could be better?
It gives children the chance to listen to books that they might not be able to read independently – books with tricky vocabulary that needs explaining or books that introduce tricky concepts that benefit from discussion with an adult.
Listening to an adult read also gives them a model for fluent reading. It allows children to hear how a skilled reader brings the words on the page to life, using their voice to share the meaning of the text.
It enables booktalk – time to discuss ideas and share opinions about what you’re reading. This is great educationally, as it helps children to think deeply about a text and practise justifying their opinions, but it can also help to build the habit of reading and talking together, a wonderful end in itself.
In Talking Books Club we:
- Listen to and talk about a range of stories and texts
- Discuss the meaning of the words and make connections between new words and the words children already know.
- Predict what is going to happen next based on what has happened so far
- Talk about interesting words and phrases
- Use dictionaries to check the meaning of words.
- Spot themes (recurring ideas) in a book
- Ask questions about a book to help children to understand it
- Summarise the information or plot in a book
- Draw conclusions about a character’s behaviour, motivation or feelings
And last but not least:
Reading comprehension goes beyond the page – it promotes the development of emotional intelligence and empathy; It helps create vivid memories often remaining with us for years. Our club is a safe, welcoming space that is open to all students, including both , neurotypical children and those with Special Educational Needs (SEN).
