Reading - A Guide for Parents and Carers
- The teaching of active reading strategies, comprehension skills and the development of new vocabulary knowledge during timetabled reading lessons and in English lessons;
- Pupils select a 'reading for pleasure' book from the library or classroom and have opportunity to read these at home and at school.
- Children are also given the opportunity to read in other curriculum areas;
- Reading with volunteer and parent helpers who share the reading experience for short periods of time during the school day;
- Continuous assessment and monitoring to ensure all children are reading at a level appropriate to their age;
- Specific catch up and booster schemes for those children who are recognised as not meeting expected standards in reading for their age;
- Access to a wide range of genres in both fiction and non-fiction.
- Displays in classrooms celebrating and recommending reading.
- Each class has Reading Ambassadors who champion reading with their peers and help organise competitions and make recommendations about books.
Using phonics (sound knowledge) to work out unknown words by segmenting them and blending the sounds back together is a skill all readers can use - fluent or other wise. There are some very useful videos on the Oxford Owl website to help parents with using the pure sounds to help children read. See the link at the bottom of the page.
- Visit the library as often as possible - take out CDs and DVDs as well as books.
- Schedule a regular time for reading - perhaps when you get home from school or just before bed.
- 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.
- Consider books that open your child's mind to other cultures and ideas that are not part of their everyday life.
- Look at the links at the bottom of this page for more great ideas.