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

My Life Mirrored in Stories

© Beverley Paine, 2004

We all love a good story and the reason is that somewhere, in each and every story, we see a part of ourselves. Stories tell us about families and communities, how we get along and don't get along, what we desire, what we hate, how we manage to cope and live every day. Even stories with animal characters are about people.

When we connect what we read to our own lives we help children learn to love and appreciate reading: we bring the world in the text closer to them and make it belong to them. We put them in the centre of the text, no matter what it is they are reading. This helps them to relate to the story or content and help them make sense of, and how they fit into, the world.

By doing this we build their comprehension skills. We compare and contrast what they already know to what they are reading. To do this we ask questions, or explore ideas, or make comments about how the story or text affects us. I often pause and make a reflective comment on how new knowledge has changed or challenged my world view or beliefs. I will stop and laugh, or say how sad I'm feeling. show I'm moved by the story. Or I may express wonder and awe, and reveal how my old knowledge was biased, out of date, perhaps didn't even make sense. In this way I show that I am active reader and an active learner. But I also show that the story is pertinent to my life. It affects me, changes me. That is the power of the written word.

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 several books and booklets on home education through her self-publishing business, Always Learning Books. Beverley retired from actively supporting home education in July 2008 to allow her to spend time on her garden and writing projects. She maintains an extensive collection of websites as well as several Yahoo groups supporting families teaching their children at home. Beverley continues to support the Home Education Association of Australia as a committee member. Beverley's books will remain available through her websites. Gradually all of her books will be converted to E-books as she makes the transition to a 'paperless office'.
Text & Images on this site Copyright © 1999-2008 Beverley Paine. All rights reserved. Please note that the opinions and articles included in the suite of Homeschool Australia websites are not necessarily those of Beverley and Robin Paine, nor do we endorse or necessarily recommend products (other than our own) listed in contributed articles, links, pages, or advertisements.