Reading at Home
Reading with your child is vital. Research shows that it’s the single most important thing you can do to help your child’s education. It’s best to read little and often, so try to put aside some time for it every day.
Think of ways to make reading fun – you want your child to learn how pleasurable books can be. If you’re both enjoying talking about the content of a particular page, linger over it for as long as you like.
Tips for helping your child to enjoy books:
- Encourage your child to pretend to ‘read’ a book before he or she can read words.
- Visit the library as often as possible
- Schedule a regular time for reading – perhaps when you get home from school or just before bed. Make sure you record a comment in their reading record.
- Buy dual-language books if English isn’t your family’s first language – you can talk about books and stories, and develop a love for them, in any language.
- Look for books on topics that you know your child is interested in – maybe dragons, insects, cookery or a certain sport.
- Make sure that children’s books are easily accessible in different rooms around your house.
St Agnes Expectations
Every child should read with a parent every night. This then needs to be recorded in your child’s reading record (click here for suggestions for comments). Please remember that Books aren’t just about reading the words on the page, they can also present new ideas and topics for you and your child to discuss (click here for ideas for questions to start a discussion).
Accelerated Reader
Children in key stage two participate in the Accelerated Reader (AR) program. The AR program is an effective way of giving older children a little more independence in their choice of reading material whilst still enabling us to track and promote reading very effectively here at St Agnes.
For further information about the accelerated reading program click here
But what should my children read?
It is important that children read books they love and books that interest them. However, it is also important that the books they read challenge and support the development of the child’s language and ideas. In key stage one children are given books according to their colour band and in key stage two texts are matched to their accelerated reader level.
Reading Eggs
Across the school, Reading Eggs is used as an online resource to support children in learning to read. Each term the children take a placement test which places them at the appropriate reading level, this then accurately challenges the children with a range of engaging spelling, phonics and reading games/lessons.
KS1 Reading Bears
At the beginning of Key Stage One, each child adopts a reading bear with the promise to read to their bear for 15 minutes per night minimum. Throughout the year, the children are invited to bring their bear back to school for special story times and events.
