Reading at Home
Phonics
At the Woodlands School we follow a systematic approach to teaching reading called Essential Letters and Sounds. We teach the pupils to read through the act of decoding and blending. Essential Letters and Sounds teaches children the link between the sounds of our language (phonemes) and the written representation of these sounds (graphemes), or the spellings of the sounds contained within the English language. Teaching of phonics is tailored to the individual child who will move through the programme at the pace necessary for them to be successful.
Beyond phonics
It must always be remembered that phonics is the step up to word recognition. Automatic reading of all words – decodable and tricky – is the ultimate goal. Once our pupils have completed the Essential letters and Sounds programme they become free readers where reading for fluency and comprehension are the focus
Reading for pleasure
At the Woodlands school we value the importance of promoting a love of reading. Reading for pleasure opens up new worlds for children. It gives them the opportunity to use their imagination to explore new ideas, visit new places and meet new characters. Interestingly, reading for pleasure also improves children’s well-being and empathy. It helps them to understand their own identity, and gives them an insight into the world and the views of others. Our school environment including our libraries and allocated book areas of the classrooms include a range of texts to spark interest and imagination.
How can you help at home?
If your child is working on the Essential letters and sounds phonics programme their class teacher will set reading books at an appropriate level for their decoding skills. These can be accessed through the website
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/ under the ‘student’ tab. Any opportunities to practise reading skills will help so setting aside some time for your child to read their set book with you will be hugely beneficial.
You can also encourage reading for pleasure at home and here are some top tips to help you do this:
Value the books they read- all reading is valuable for a child’s development. Some of us prefer non-fiction; some of us prefer comics. One child might like superhero books; another might a book of football statistics
Set aside some special reading time- just a few minutes a day is enough to create a reading habit
Get caught reading yourself – show that reading for pleasure is not just for children
Stage and screen – use your child’s favourite films or games as a springboard into reading. Knowing the characters and storyline can be a helpful bridge into reading a longer story.
Read to each other – if your child really doesn’t want to read on their own, then read together. You read a page, then they read a page. Or one of you could read any dialogue. Be brave and put on different voices.