One thing we know beyond doubt from research into reading is that children do not simply ‘catch’ reading – it must be explicitly taught. While most parents are not trained to teach reading they can do some very simple things to ensure their children begin school ready to read.

Parents know the importance of reading to their child but may not know the easy pre-reading steps they can take to make sure their child understands how books ‘work’ before starting school. These are such simple things as teaching the following pre-reading skills:

• orientation (being able to place a book the correct way up);
• recognising that print carries the verbal message;
• understanding that print is read from left to right;
• locating the first and last parts of the story;
• recognising that the top line of print is read first;
• understanding that the page number is not part of the story (Clay, 1979).

This seems almost too simple, but many children arrive at school without these skills and are behind before they start. When you have taught your child to understand the above by reading to them and showing them how to hold the book themselves so that it is the right way up, placing your fingers on the words to show where you start reading and how you read across the page consider the following to give your child a reading advantage:

1. Choose books carefully to make sure they are high quality, appropriate for age and lead into discussion, exploration and discovering of meaning and understanding of the text. Every bookstore has wonderful picture books for children. Staff at the store will tell you which books are the most popular.

2. ‘Book walk’ before reading – discuss the pictures – so that children have an idea about the book before reading begins. When you do this comprehension is increased and the richness of the story is deeper for your child.

3. Re-read familiar books as this develops fluency and self-confidence. I don’t know how many times I must have read ‘Five Pennies to Spend’ to my elder son- we had it on permanent loan from the local library – and woe betide if I tried to skip a page or even a sentence.

4. Teach children the alphabet. Since the 1960s, solid research has shown that the ability to recognise and name the letters of the alphabet upon entry to school is the best single predictor of reading achievement at the end of the first year of literacy instruction. However, it also shows that simply teaching children the alphabet does not guarantee that they will rapidly develop literacy skills; the pre-reading skills mentioned above are also important. My son taught himself the alphabet via Sesame Street. Chanting the alphabet on long car trips is also fun for young children, although the driver may get a little stressed!

5. Encourage children to tell stories themselves, especially when this is linked with dramatic play as this increases skills in later reading comprehension and appreciation of literature. Dramatic play involves such activities as ‘dress up’, pretending to be pirates or space men, fairies or magicians, doctors, posting a letter, afternoon tea in the sandpit, going on a trip using chairs as the car or train, fastening pretend seat belts and so on.

6. Play language games with children, using nursery rhymes, poetry, and tongue twisters, or games with actions included – Jack and Jill went up the hill, Incy, Wincy Spider, Hot Potato, Hot Potato. There are some wonderful, beautifully illustrated books of nursery rhymes available. They should be on every child’s bookshelf.

7. Ask children to describe what they see when reading a picture book – ‘how many birds can you see?’ ‘what colour is the tree?’, or draw attention to the pictures – ‘look a bird’s nest’, ‘there’s a cow, a cow says moo’. Constant verbal interaction between you and your child increases vocabulary and fluency with language. When I write my own books, such as The Entwhistle Experiment: Glued, for 9-12 year olds I choose sometimes to use sophisticated words that children might not be familiar with. This is deliberate because it pushes children to add to their vocabulary. In the same way it is important we expand vocabulary for our children at every opportunity, starting from the moment they’re born. Take opportunities for ‘incidental’ reading in iPad apps, junk mail, maps, diagrams, advertisements, words on packages etc. Anything that introduces children to new words.

8. Speak in sentences and have conversations, even when children are quite small, so they begin to understand how words go together. For example: the colour of clothes – ‘Put on your red socks’; when preparing breakfast – ‘You like toast and honey’; what you are putting in the shopping trolley – ‘There’s coffee for Daddy and milk for Luke’.

9. Try not to use one-word sentences and avoid baby talk. For example, when you hand a child a toy say, ‘This is a car’, not ‘car’; or when you refer to a train call it a train, not a ‘choo-choo’.

10. Restrict television viewing, but include programs like Sesame Street, which research confirms is positive for children’s literacy and numeracy development.

11. Provide opportunities and encouragement for success to help children gain confidence.

12. Take the opportunity to expand your child’s general knowledge, e.g so they know when reading Three Little Pigs that a straw house will be weaker than a brick one.

13. Help them to understand social conventions, e.g. it is bad manners for Goldilocks to steal the porridge.

14. Talk to your school or local librarians about the most popular books for your child’s age

15. Use hand puppets to encourage them to talk and to be imaginative.

By trying all these simple strategies your child will almost certainly start school with the reading advantage they need to succeed when they reach school, and beyond.