Reading

KS1

At Bildeston Primary School our reading is based on Collins Big Cat Phonics which supports our phonics scheme 'Little Wandle - Letters and Sounds Revised'.

Your child will be taught to read at school, with sessions each week on fluency, comprehension and expression.  However, you will have a massive impact on their reading journey by supporting this practice with what you do at home.

As they work through the Little Wandle programme, there are two types of reading book that your child may bring home:

Reading practice book

This will have been carefully matched to your child’s current phonic knowledge and confidence, and to the tricky words they know.  They should be able to read this to you fluently and independently, only needing to ‘sound out’ (blend) a couple of words with very little help.  This doesn’t mean it’s ‘too easy’ – your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading.  Being fluent also allows them space to rehearse reading expressively and think about the meaning of what they have read.  Remember to always give them lots of praise and celebrate every success! If they can’t read a word, read it to them. After they have finished, talk about the book together.

A sharing book 

Your child should not be expected, nor will they be able, to read this book to you.  Please don’t expect them to read this independently or sound out unfamiliar words.  This book will have been chosen by your child from our classroom book corner, purely because they like it and want to share it with you.  By enjoying these books with your child and talking about the pictures and meaning together, you will be helping to develop a child who reads for pleasure and giving them to access to a far richer vocabulary – essential to help them understand their experiences and to develop a life-long love of reading itself as a window to the wider world’.

Thank you for your support in this exciting development in teaching our children to read and have fun!  These should be precious moments for you both.

Once your child has finished phase 5 phonics, and they are a fluent reader, they will join our Accelerated Reader programme (see below for more information).

Reading Progression (Quick Link)

KS2 (& Year 2)

Accelerated Reader is a computer program that helps teachers manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice. Your child reads a book at his/her own level and reads it at his/her own pace. When finished, your child takes a short quiz on the computer - passing the quiz is an indication that your child has understood what has been read. We suggest that pupils read their book at least twice, unless otherwise instructed, and discuss with an adult the contents before taking the quiz.