Reading at Home
Reading at home in Early Years and Key Stage One
What books should I be reading with my child?
Reading with your child every night is crucial. Each week, your child will take home a book, which is linked to their phonics learning for that week, and a book from the library to share for pleasure. In Year 2, your child's book may be linked to Accelerated Reader if they are ready to move away from phonics.
Phonics book
Your child should be able to read their phonics book confidently to you and you can support them by repeatedly reading this book throughout the week as this will help develop their fluency and expression. Remember that we are focusing on fluency, so even if it feels a bit repetitive, we are aiming for your child to read this book well.
Ideas to support developing their fluency when reading this book:
- Use a lollipop stick (that you could both decorate!) to point at the words whilst they read
- Model reading the page yourself first, with good pace and expression, before asking your child to read it in the same way
- Read the page at the same time, out loud, with your child to support them in developing their pace
- Use 'Fred Talk' (sounding out and blending) to support your child if they linger on a word for too long.
Book to share for pleasure
This book is chosen to develop your child's love of reading! It is not expected that your child will be able to read this book independently; it is a book to be shared with family members. Make the most of our local West Sussex libraries and take out books as often as you can!
Ideas to support developing their fluency when reading this book:
- Build a routine in the week where you and your child can relax, get comfy and cosy and settle down to sharing this book
- Choose a cosy space, whether it be in their bedroom, on the sofa, in a reading den, and generate excitement that this is a special time to share a good book!
- Share the book with other family members to develop that sense that books are to be talked about
What questions should I be asking as we are reading?
When you are reading, it isn't the quantity that you're looking for, it is the quality, hence why we encourage you to read the book many times.
To support their understanding of the words they are reading, it is important to hold conversations about the book with your child, including questions about characters, the setting, similar books they've read and their likes and dislikes.
Recording their reading
We know that home life can be busy and finding time to record in a reading record daily can be challenging. Even a weekly update will support your child's teacher to know your child as a reader and see where support is needed.
We welcome parents, grandparents or any family member who can spare a bit of time to listen to our children read. Please get in touch with your child's class teacher if you think you might be able to help!
As always, we appreciate your ongoing support.