3 is the magic number!

Our message through school is to read at least 3 times a week at home. We always encourage a mixed diet of little and often of two book types. A library book and a book chosen by your teacher that your child can read to you. 

Library books (Sharing Books)

For younger children in school, this would include sharing a library book together. Perhaps as a bedtime story that is read to them. Younger children are not expected to be able to read these books themselves.

We want reading habits to establish and a love of books. Library books are the ones that lead to them loving books. You, as their favourite grown up, are central to this. Snuggling up to their favourite person in the world with a book to relax on an evening = a child and future grown up who wants to read and loves books. We are here to encourage and support you in giving this gift to your child. If they love books and they read they can learn anything and everything.

As the children get older, reading with a grown up is still ideal. Even though they 'can read now' (decode the words) there is still a huge amount of reading to learn. As the decoding of the print (phonics) becomes easier, learning moves to what reading is really about - comprehension.

Enjoy a chapter book together or even read this one to them if they like. It's not cheating! They get a lot from hearing you read - especially around comprehension skills. Use your storyteller voice, ask them questions about what is going on, talk to them about the meaning of words, let them see inside your readers brain and what the book is making you think or question or ponder. This is the best kind of reading teaching and one-to-one with their favourite grown-up in the world (you!) is so helpful and effective.

Little Wandle Reading Practice (Phonic) Books

From the start of Reception onwards, children will have access to a Little Wandle reading practice book to re-read at home. In Reception, you might read the books for 10 minutes 3 times a week. In Year 1, 2 or 3 your child will be keener to do a bit longer between 10 and 20 minutes each time.

They will read this phonically decodable book 3 times in school with an adult during the week. Reading again at home will embed and strengthen your child's skills further and give them a lot of confidence.

Their book will be available through an e-book format on the Collins Hub. Your child will have their own password to access their book. Please ask your class teacher for support in accessing the e-book on your phone or tablet. We run regular workshops to support you too. 

Reading to understand

Once your child has finished the phonic and early reading content in school they are confident in decoding the phonic sounds they encounter in English and tricky words by sight to read fluently and with understanding. 

Reading now is especially focussed on understanding. Many people would consider this 'real reading' or 'the point of reading'. To summarise, it is about understanding all the information and messages given through a book. As we move through school, it is also about being able to see why a writer has decided to use a certain word or design a page in a certain way and think about the effect they were trying to have on the reader. Teachers often call this comprehension and the children from now on in, learn how to talk about books in many different and quite sophisticated ways.

This is the hardest skill of reading and so as children get older - they still need help with reading from an adult as often as possible. The comprehension bookmarks below will give you an idea of the kinds of questions to find the answers to when reading with your child. You'll see how tricky some of them can get, so please practice 3 times a week at home to reinforce what they are learning in school.