Beverley Paine's Australian Home School Curriculum: Tips for Learning How to Read

Reading Isn't a Passive Activity

© Beverley Paine, 2004

Reading is a bit like watching television; it can be a passive or active activity. Nothing is worse than four or five zombies glued to their chairs in an eerily lit blue room... I love the TV remote control because I can mute the adverts and chat about what we're watching. We are critical viewers of television. Sometimes we do the same for the adverts, mute one but not another, so we can discuss the merits and effectiveness of the various elements used in promoting the product.

It's a good idea when reading aloud to pause if a child has a question, or looks puzzled, or if you want to clarify something in the text, or feel the need to discuss something. I've sat in on reading sessions where everyone has to be silent and listen, and watched children fall away, sneak off to play, or whose eyes have glazed over as they drift into a private fantasy... It seems such a waste. Involve the children. Let the children hear your own interest in the plot and character's predicaments. If the action is scary, sound scared. If the information is amazing sound amazed. Read with emotion and expression. Before you turn the page ask the children what they think will happen next. Get them to tell you about the pictures. It doesn't matter if the book is fairy story or an elaborate picture book on how cars work - you'll be amazed at how much a child can tell you. Let them exercise their imaginations, and then turn the page to see what the author thought.

Another invaluable tip for reading aloud is to make eye contact. You are a performer and your child is your audience. Hold his attention by making eye contact often. If you need to drag your finger along the line you are reading to keep place, do so. It will make the child feel okay about keeping place with his fingers too.

photo of Beverley and Robin Paine Pioneering members of the home education movement in Australia, Beverley and Robin Paine are passionate advocates of true educational choice for families. They began homeschooling their children in 1986 and three years later started the South Australian Home Based Learners network. Beverley wrote Getting Started with Homeschooling in 1995-97 and since then continues to write books and booklets on home education. She balances spending time helping home educators with working in her garden and renovating her home, as well as continuing to build her collection of writing on a variety of homeschooling subjects. Beverley maintains an extensive collection of websites as well as several Yahoo groups supporting families teaching their children at home. In 2007 Beverley joined the HEA and became a committee member in 2008: she also edits and produce the HEA Newsletter, HEA magazine, Stepping Stones for Home Educators, annual Resource Directory and other HEA publications. If you'd like to keep in touch with what Beverley is up to her in her life, sign up for the Homeschool Australia Newsletter or visit her Homeschool AustraliaFacebook page.