Dear Parents/Carers,
Reading is a skill we continue to develop throughout our lives, but starting this process as early as possible has significant benefits for our continued success as readers. This is why, as parents and carers, you play a vital role in supporting your child in becoming a fluent reader who is confidently able to apply their reading skills across all areas of their lives.
The teaching of reading and reading comprehension within the classroom is only part of a child’s learning, and the value that is given to reading at home is equally important. Research suggests that children who read regularly outside of school perform significantly better in school and are at the Expected level for their year group and so your support at home is essential in ensuring that your child makes the progress they are capable of.
You can help your child to achieve their full potential by listening to them read daily (for about 15 minutes), reading regular bedtime stories and by encouraging them to enjoy reading and sharing books together. Reading widely through all of these approaches will help develop your child’s vocabulary, which in turn will make them more confident when reading more challenging books.
Reading Records
To help us track how much reading your child is doing at home, it is important that you sign their reading record every time you have listened to them read, along with a brief comment. (At the upper end of Key Stage 2 when children are more likely to be reading with confidence and fluency, they should be keeping their own daily records, which should be signed by parents/carers at least twice a week.) Your support with reading at home is essential and only by working together can we ensure your child achieves their potential as a reader. If you require any further guidance regarding reading, please ask either myself or your child’s class teacher.
Vending Machine
Following on from our very successful fundraising day in July, we now have our Reading Book Vending Machine taking pride of place in the school hall. Thank you to all of you for your support with this. Every week, one child from each class will be awarded a certificate and a token to use in the Vending Machine for regular home reading which is logged in your child’s reading record book. The books that they choose from the vending machine will be theirs to keep.
Bookmarks
Your children will receive a bookmark in their reading record book. At the end of each week, your child’s class teacher will look at regular home reading. If your child has read at least three times that week, they will receive a stamp on their bookmark. The idea is that once they receive 5,10,15 and 20 stamps, they will receive a reward which will progressively be more exciting with the more stamps that they get.
Whole Class Rewards
As well as individual rewards, we will also be rewarding whole classes for regular home reading. Each time your child reads, they will receive one point for their class. At the end of each week, points will be counted and the winning class will receive a whole class reward. These points will continue to be tallied up and at the end of each module, the winning class will receive a larger reward. Some examples of the rewards will be things like; extra playtime, lunch with Mrs Rimmer or Mrs Champ or a winning class can wear their own clothes to school for a day.
Library
Every Thursday afternoon, two classes will have some time in our school library at least twice a module. This will give the children a great opportunity to explore a range of books from different genres. Through visiting our library, they are able to enjoy a quiet time to read and take a book out if they wish to. You will notice that your child may be bringing a library book home that they will enjoy alongside their normal reading book. They will still remain on our banded books and are able to change their reading books regularly.
If your child chooses to take a book home, a slip will be sent home with your child to make you aware of the date their book needs to be returned by. We have allocated two weeks for your child to have the book before it needs to be returned, to allow plenty of time for them to read and finish the book.
We are so excited to be able to continue and share our love of reading as a school and provide the children with unlimited access to this.
Thank you for your support,
Miss Goldfinch
Reading, Phonics and KS1 Lead
