Why Does English Matter?
Being able to read, speak and write in clear English is the key to success in many aspects of life and work. Skills in English are important in many school/college/university subjects and essential in many occupations. English teachers provide pupils with meaningful reading, writing, talking and listening opportunities. This will enable pupils to develop and improve communication skills and help you to enjoy and further appreciate the English language in prose, poetry and drama.
How Can Parents Support their Children in Developing their Skills in English?
Talk to Your Child:
This may sound obvious but if you talk to your child about texts they are studying in class, their grades/progress in their critical essays/writing pieces, you may be able to tell if your child is struggling but is perhaps reluctant to ask for help. Discussing with your son/daughter a novel that is being read as part of coursework could demonstrate to you whether or not he/she is confident in his/her understanding of it. Can he/she fluently explain the key scene(s) of the text and why these scene(s) are so important? Can he/she confidently discuss the development of the main character(s)? Has he/she understood the significance of the setting of the novel? An informal conversation with your child will allow you to quickly pick up on just how confident he/she is about texts explored in class.
If your child is lacking in confidence in his/her discussions with you, revising notes at home will help to develop and consolidate their awareness of key elements of the text being studied.
The Importance of Language:
Close Reading is a vital element of studying English at all levels and one which most pupils find extremely challenging.
To help you son/daughter develop the necessary skills in Close Reading, it would be extremely useful to choose a newspaper article with him/her from a quality broadsheet eg The Sunday Times – the News Review section has many suitable articles – and to read it through together. Chat to your son/daughter about the main points raised in the article, the point of view of the author, how paragraphs are linked, the meaning of difficult/unfamiliar words, the tone of the article, interesting word choice used to create a particular effect, the significance of the title/headline of the article and use of imagery. You could also ask your son/daughter to identify the main point(s) in each paragraph and techniques the writer uses to conclude the article.
This will allow your son/daughter to study/revise Close Reading skills with your direct support and input in a less formal setting and will assist him/her to improve his/her skills throughout his/her school career. Carried out once a week, over time, this will have a very positive impact on your son/daughter’s progress.
Further support and advice can be found on:
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/intermediate2/english/
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/english/close_reading/
www.sqa.org.uk/pastpapers/findpastpaper.htm?subject=English
www.rhsenglish.com/p/s5s6-nq.html
Private Reading:
Fundamental to everything covered in the English curriculum is an awareness and appreciation of language. This can best be fostered by independent and private reading. That is why such emphasis is placed upon it by English teachers to all year groups. Pupils who independently and regularly read challenging texts will improve their performance in English.
Most pupils need to consciously foster the habit of reading. With busy lives, it may be difficult to fit this in. That is why it is important for parents to both monitor and support their son/daughter’s reading habits. We in the English Department recommend that each pupil, in every year group, should aim to read a challenging text for around 30 minutes per day. For some pupils they may have to work up to this, but it is well worth doing for the rewards that can be reaped in terms of language development. One way of helping your child to fit this in to a busy day is to encourage them to retire to bed 30 minutes before his/her usual time and spend this 30 minutes on reading.
“Knowing you have something good to read before bed is among the most pleasurable of sensations.” — Vladimir Nabokov
If your child is a reluctant reader, you could reinforce advice given by English teachers and urge him/her to make full use of our well-stocked school library. Our fulltime librarian, Mrs Baird, is only too happy to chat to pupils about books they may enjoy. In addition, you could make regular trips to your local library with your son/daughter, helping him/her to choose books, discussing choices with him/her and participating in their attempts to cultivate this important habit.
Of course, if your child sees you reading at home, it may also put them in the mood!
Reading Lists for Teenagers:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/teen-books
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/9189047/25-classic-novels-for-teenagers.html
http://www.reading.org/resources/booklists/childrenschoices.aspx
http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/teenagers/booklists/244/
http://www.reading.org/resources/booklists/youngadultschoices.aspx
Writing:
Expressing ideas via the written word is, of course, essential in English. All year groups are expected to develop writing skills through Reflective/Persuasive/Discursive and Creative writing.
Encourage your son/daughter to keep a writing diary where he/she can record snippets of ideas for good writing pieces which he/she may later develop as a writing piece for his/her folio.
Fundamental to developing writing skills is the development of reading skills. Good writers are always keen readers and vice versa.
Therefore, the key to being able to express your ideas clearly in writing, to ensure that punctuation is correct, that spelling is accurate and that ideas are expressed with clarity and power, is to ensure that reading becomes ingrained in our day to day lives.
For help with how to improve handwriting visit:
http://kidshealth.org/kid/grow/school_stuff/handwriting.html
“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” — Victor Hugo
