Encouraging Regular Reading
To help create a positive reading culture in our school, we will be rewarding children who actively engage with reading by entering them into a half termly draw. The 10 winners each half term will be awarded a book token to get a book of their choice.
Weekly, children will receive raffle tickets if they have read at least 4 times each week and this is evidenced in their reading record. They will also get the chance to have their picture taken in front of our reading butterfly wings in the entrance to school.
Top Tips for Reading at Home:
- Keep sessions short
- Keep sessions relaxed – find a comfortable place where you and your child can settle down
- Give lots of praise, progress may not always be fast – children do not always find the skill of reading and understanding easy to grasp
- Talk about the book before you begin to read – look at the front cover, and the pictures (if any) and ask your child to think about or even guess what the book may be about.
- Ask questions to check your child’s understanding e.g. What might happen next? Why did something happen?
- Talk about the book afterwards – did your child enjoy it? Why? What was the best bit?
- If your child struggles over a particular word, try to find ways to help them remember it e.g. by looking at the ‘shape’ of the word, or by guessing the word from the meaning of the sentence.
- Don’t give up on the bedtime story, even if your child is a good reader. The more stories and books your child hear, the more they will want to read.
- Be a good model for your children – let them see you reading – anything and everything – newspapers, magazines, catalogues, books etc. – let them know that reading is a valuable skill.
- Telling them about a book or story you liked when you were a child. You may still be able to find a copy of it on the internet!
- Making up a story or telling them about when you were a child or something that happened to you at school, remember you don’t always need a book to tell a good story.
- Taking it in turns to read parts of the story.
- Telling them one thing you really enjoy about listening to them read.
Websites to help your child read at home:
Oxford Owl Press www.oxfordowl.co.uk
Wordsforlife.org.uk www.wordsforlife.org
A Story For Bedtime www.astoryforbedtime.com
BBC Parenting website www.bbc.co.uk/parenting
Booktrust www.booktrust.co.uk
The Child Literacy Centre www.childliteracy.com
DfES Parents Centre www.parentscentre.gov.uk
Help Them Read www.helpthemread.co.uk
