Supporting your child's reading at home
A reading practice book: This book has been carefully matched to your child's current phonic stage and they should be able to read it fluently and independently. If your child is reading this book with little help, please don't worry that it is 'too easy': your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading. Listen to them read the book. Remember to give them lots of praise and celebrate their success! If they cannot read a word, read it to them. After they have finished reading, talk about the book together. Reading practice books will be distributed on Fridays and must be returned the following Thursday. To support with our ongoing teacher assessments in school, we ask that you record your child reading their practice book once a week at home and load this to their individual portfolio page on Class Dojo.
A sharing book: If children are to become lifelong readers, it is essential that they are encouraged to read for pleasure. To help foster a love of reading, children will choose a book to share and enjoy with you at home once a week from our school library. Your child is not expected to read this book independently - it is for you to read to or with your child. Again, it is good to talk about the book with your child, but please do not turn the discussion into a test. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters and explore facts in non-fiction books. The goal is enjoyment! Each class will have an allocated day to choose and return their haring book. Please ensure that books are returned within the allocated time frame.
- Sit with with your child and hold the book together
- Encourage your child to turn the pages as the story is being told on the video
- Talk about the book with your child: discuss the pictures and enjoy the story
Storytime with....
We have recorded our school's 'daily read aloud' books. Every class has a book which they regularly read together. These books change half-termly and are stories that we want our children to know back to front and inside out. They represent a range of authors and genres, with due thought to themes, diversity and inclusivity. We share our new half termly 'read alouds' on Class Dojo and in our newsletters and encourage parents/carers to join in the reading fun at home. You can find more information about our school's daily read aloud books here. If you would like to access our school's recordings to enjoy at home with your child, please click here.
Taking care of our books at home...
As a school, we have invested a lot of money in high-quality phonics books and beautiful sharing books for our children. We ask that you help your child and other family members to ensure that books are well looked after at and respected at home. Please ensure that books are:
- kept somewhere safe at home
- returned to school on the days requested
- not stored in book bags with water bottles (in the past, we have had lots of books damaged by spillages)
- not drawn in
- not creased (support your child in turning pages with care)
Other helpful resources
We are very blessed to have a superb local library and encourage parents and carers to make use of this wonderful community resource. Each year, we organise a trip to the library in our Reception class: all parents are encouraged to attend and register their child for a library card. We are visited annually by the BookStart team.
Below, you will find a useful booklet to help you support your child's reading comprehension skills at home using our 'St Chad's Super 6' characters.