Reading and Phonics Home School Partnership
Reading and sharing stories is a huge part of the Early Years curriculum. We share a book or story every single day!
Throughout the term we will focus on several key texts, books or stories which we will read every day and base some of our other learning activities around. Sharing the same story for a period of time helps the children to internalise and become familiar with the story. If a story has a repetitive theme or repeated refrain we encourage the children to join in or add actions to remind them of different parts of the story.
We have recently developed our reading area to encourage children to choose to look at books during their child initiated learning or 'CIL' time. We also have a range of different books in each area of the classroom linked to the resources which are in that area.
Reading to young children helps to develop vocabulary, concentration and listening skills and helps to encourage a love of books and reading. It also helps children to learn pre-reading skills such as knowing which way up to hold a book, turning the pages one at a time and understanding that print carries meaning.
We recommend reading to your child everyday at home and talking to them about the story or book you have shared together.
In Early Years we have a daily Phonics lesson using the Read Write Inc programme. We begin in Nursery by developing children’s phonological awareness. This is all about listening to different sounds, hearing and saying the sounds in words and making different sounds with our mouths or instruments.
In Reception, the children will be given a phonics pack of letter sounds they have been learning during the week and activities to support your child to learn these sounds. They will progress onto a book with words after the teacher has taught the sounds and your child is able to blend those sounds in order to confidently read their reading book.
Phonics books: Your child should be able to read these books with confidence as they will have read them in school. It is important for children to re-read familiar books to develop fluency. This is a very important skill in reading and greatly helps their reading comprehension.
Your child will have a book that will be kept at school during the week to allow the children to practise fluency with their class teacher/teaching assistant each day. On a Friday, your child will bring home the book they have been practising at school which they will keep until the following Friday. This is to allow for further practice and fluency at home. When children are heard read individually in school, this will be recorded in your child's reading record book with a comment on explicit reading skills for fluency and comprehension. Adult helpers may also hear your child read in school. This will be recorded in your child's reading book with an 'I have read with an adult today' stamp. Please read with your child daily and sign their reading record book.
Please keep reading record books and phonics packs in your child's book bag so that we can update them when needed. Reading books will need to be returned on a Friday so that they can be changed.
Please support us and your child’s reading enjoyment and progress by ensuring you read a little bit each day and sign your child’s reading journal.
Each class has a designated day for a library visit. During library time, children can bring home a library book in addition to their school reading book. We like to allow children the choice to pick books that interest them and for you to read to them at home. We expect our library books to be looked after and returned in the same condition in which they were borrowed. We will not issue new library books for home without the return of the previously borrowed book. If books return damaged or lost, there will be a charge to allow us to replace the books.