Reading Support

How you can help your child

“Reading for pleasure is the single biggest factor in success later in life, outside of an education. Study after study has shown that those children who read for pleasure are the ones mostly likely to fulfil their ambitions. If your child reads, they will succeed – it’s that simple.”

Bali Rai

Research shows that the active involvement of parents and carers can make a difference to reading skills and we know that so many parents and carers want to help but aren’t sure how. 

Here, you can access a PIXL parent support guide. The support guide provides lots of information and tips for parents, and conversation starters to help create a meaningful and interesting dialogue about reading.

How can you help?

• Encourage children to switch off devices half an hour before they go to bed and read instead. It is a habit, and they only need 20-30 minutes a night regularly. Start with shorter times if needed. Taking away the blue light will also ensure that your child gets better quality sleep, allowing the brain to process the day’s learning and ensure what they have learned is remembered.
• Use rewards to help motivate your child to read if they are reluctant, and praise and encourage them as they read.
• Talk to your child about your reading habits, or books you enjoyed at their age.
• Take advantage of all the amazing free reading resources online – see below.
• Read to your child – you would be surprised how much teenagers actually like being read to – even if you think they are too old for it. Studies have shown that reading aloud to children has many benefits!
• Let them listen to audiobooks as an alternative.
• Don’t discourage them from reading non-fiction, graphic novels, comics or magazines – everything helps. Similarly, don’t comment on their choice of book even if you think it is too easy – get them reading first, and they are more likely to move onto more challenging reads later.
• Ask them about their reading. Get them to read their favourite bit to you. Ask them questions about what they think will happen next. Borrow their books and read them and then discuss them.
• Help them with reading homework texts by checking they understand the words, directing them to a dictionary to check unfamiliar words, getting them to read it to you or summarise it for you.
• Build in some quiet reading time after school – then chat about what they have read.
• Discuss the recommended reading lists on the website to see what genres are preferred.

Useful Online Resources

Researchify

Six free children’s classics as PDF and word documents, with accompanying audio books: Alice in Wonderland, Wind in the Willows, The Railway Children, The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, Black Beauty

Click here

Manybooks

50,000 eBooks with a free account.

Click here

World eBook

A range of children’s eBooks, including non -fiction, with a free account

Click here

Comixology

Free comics and graphic novels

Click here

The Hub Online

Access your MHS eLibrary, anywhere, anytime on multiple devices

Click here

Access-It

MHS Online Library

Click here

Toppsta

A website full of book recommendations, including videos and activity packs.  There are over 55,000 books reviews – all by children!

Click here

Harry Potter Reading Magic

Great for Harry Potter fans!

Click here

Authorfy

Authorfy has interactive resources, videos and activities to support reading and writing

Click here

Macbeth

Getting GCSE ready: Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Click here

An Inspector Calls

Getting GCSE ready: An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley

Click here

A Christmas Carol

Getting GCSE ready: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Click here