Parental Involvement with Reading

The initial parental involvement projects were set up in areas where there was concern about children’s reading progress and all the children in a class or school were included. There have also been specific studies where parental involvement has been seen in action rather than in theory. Parents who want to help may need much extra support and encouragement. This could well be in the form of informal meetings at school, but the experience of some home-reading projects should also be considered. Home/school reading schemes have been shown to have many advantages. In an ideal situation a parent has the time to give the child much needed practice and support with immediate feedback, praise and reward. A more structured approach to listening to children read has been evolved in the Pause, Prompt and Praise method. Paired reading therefore should be considered when involving parents of children with reading difficulties.