Reading at Andoversford

At Andoversford, we want all of our children to become confident, fluent readers who have a passion for books! Your child will bring home different types of books while they are learning to read. Watch this video guide to find out more:

Banded Books: These are carefully matched so that your child can read at a good level of accuracy without too much sounding out. They should read these out loud to you. When they become more fluent - at Lime Level - the books become longer novels and chapter books. At this stage your child might want to read in their head more often, but it is useful to still hear them out loud occasionally to check their fluency. You can help more fluent readers by asking questions about what they are reading to check their understanding. 

Shared Reading Books: In Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, your child will bring home a Shared Reading Book. This is a book which an adult reads to the child. These books are a great way to develop vocabulary and explore new ideas. Children develop their own reading skills by watching an adult read to them.

Library Books: All children visit the school library once a week. It is a great space with lots of exciting books to choose from. We encourage all a children to select a library book to take home - even if it is not matched to their reading level. Enjoying books which are easy-going, or looking through books which are too challenging to read independently, promotes a love of reading. Reading for pleasure is just as important as practising reading with carefully matched banded books.

Listening to your child read

Practise is the key to developing any skill! In school, we teach your child to read, but they will need to spend lots of time practising at home - and when they are out and about! This might include recognising and talking about sounds and words in the environment when they first start reading as well as setting aside regular times to read together.

Developing fluency is really important, so while they are learning to read, we encourage children to re-read the same book at least 3 times. The first time will focus on sounding out and blending any unfamiliar words. The second time will develop expression - or the storyteller voice. The third time, it is good to focus on comprehension to make sure your child understands what they are reading. 

The Little Wandle Website has some superb resources, including videos to help with reading at home: For parents | Letters and Sounds (littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk)

The Little Wandle Website has some superb resources, including videos to help with reading at home: For parents | Letters and Sounds (littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk)

The Oxford Owl website has some great information for parents to help with reading and phonics. Find it here: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/ 

You can also access lots of free e-books on the Oxford Owl website. Take a look at the e-book library!