Supporting Children’s Reading

At Brailes CE  Primary School, we value reading as a lifelong learning skill. We know how important it is to work in partnership with parents, carers and grandparents to encourage our children to develop a love of reading.

We expect:

• Children to read at home for a short time daily.
• Children or parents to record when and what has been read in this learning log.
• An adult in school to check this.

In school, we do lots of reading, whether it is in phonics sessions, hearing your child read 1-1, paired reading, whole class Book Talk reading, shared reading and class story sessions. We also help children who find the skills to become confident, fluent readers challenging, with interventions and opportunities for additional reading. 

We ask all our children outside school to read every day for a short time. This could be their reading book, an age appropriate magazine, their own book or library book. Reading a range of texts is important and it helps them practise their skills. Younger children may read for a short amount of time themselves and then enjoy sharing a book with an adult.

The make-up of this reading time and the number of pages read will vary depending on the age of your child, for example:

Year R children = spend at least 5 minutes reading, the rest of the time sharing a book

KS1 children = spend at least 10 minutes reading, the rest of the time sharing a book

KS2 children = around 15-20 minutes reading. If your child is happy to read for longer than this, please encourage them to do so.

READING BOOKS

1. Early Readers (those who are undertaking the RWI phonics programme)

Children will bring home three different types of books each week.

1. Read Write Inc (RWI) books

When children bring home the book they have been reading in their phonics lesson, we expect they will be able to read it without support as they have been taught for accuracy, fluency and understanding. Children should read this book in their practised ‘storyteller voice’. This is an opportunity for them to show off their super reading skills to you.

1. Read Write Inc Book Bag Books

Every time your child brings a RWI book home, they will also bring a Bookbag Book that has many of the same words but in a new story. They will have practised theRWI book in school but won’t have read the Bookbag Book so may need a little more guidance to ensure that they use their sounds carefully. 

Listen to your child read the same Bookbag book again and again until they become confident and speedy. 

• 1^st read – focus on accuracy (decoding)
• 2^nd read – read more quickly (fluency)
• 3^rd read – develop understanding of what they have read (comprehension)

• Encourage them to use ’Special Friends’, ‘Fred Talk’, ‘read the word’
• Discuss the story and encourage their storyteller voice.

1. Sharing Books

You can teach your child about reading by reading to them.  So we also send home sharing/library picture books that may be above the child’s current level of decoding. By reading with your child, it will give them an opportunity to be exposed to language and story lines they may not otherwise come across.

B) Proficient Readers (those not on the RWI programme)

1. Independent reading on Accelerated Reader

Children will bring home books they have selected matched to their reading ability. 

Before

If it is the first time your child has read the book, look at the cover and title with them to predict what they think the book might be about. Make links to other books read with similar themes, the same characters and/or similar authors/illustrators. Give them time to flick through the book and read the blurb.

During

Encourage children to track the words with their finger or use a reading ruler if this helps them.

Help the children to decode (read) the words and ask them about the meaning of more challenging words. 

Afterwards

Talk with your child the content of what they have read – use the reading prompt questions at the back of the learning log to help you cover the different skills.

1. Shared reading

Whatever stage children are at, it is valuable for them to hear others reading stories. It will support their development of expression and intonation. An audiobook is a wonderful way to do this or to have a family book you dip into is also a special way to celebrate reading together.

What else can you do to help?

The stages of learning to read happen in the following sequence:

Fluency -> Pace -> Expression -> Comprehension

We are aiming for children to use reading as a tool to unlock new knowledge and skills so comprehension must be our ultimate goal.

5 reasons why reading with your child is essential

1. Reading with your child is the most important thing you can do to help your child succeed in school. 
2. Books exposure your child to new words that help build language and understanding
3. Reading together is fun and helps build relationships.
4. Reading with children shows it is important, valued and is likely to inspire them to read themselves.
5. The impact lasts a lifetime. Confident readers are healthier and have better job opportunities.

Daily reading has a significant impact on attainment. Children who read daily are four times more likely to read above the level expected for their age. 

Some ways you can promote and support your child reading at home:

• When you read to your child, make the experience interactive - ask questions about the story, the pictures, and what they think of the characters 
• Enrol your child at the local library so they can try new books regularly
•  Keep an eye out for the themes that catch your child's imagination at school - and help follow it up with more reading 
• When you come across an unusual or funny-sounding word, help your child find out what it means.

• Listen to your children read their books from school, but it's very important to keep reading to children. 
• Try reading longer stories or chapter books that can be read a chapter each day. Help your child to read aloud with expression so the story comes to life. This will help them read more fluently.
• Ask your child questions about the story to check their understanding (use the reading prompt questions at the back of this learning log).
• Read for information, not just stories for entertainment.

Reading Dos and Don’ts