Home-learning expectations and guidance for parents to support their child

We aim that all children will read at home for at least 15 minutes each night. Parents may also read books to their children to further develop their love of reading. Staff check reading records daily in our personalised reading records.  Those children that do not read at home every night are heard reading in school by a member of staff or one of our parent volunteers.

How to support your child at home

We encourage parents to find a quiet place each day to hear your child read at home or share a book with them.  In Key Stage 1, please encourage your child to use their phonics knowledge to sound out unfamiliar words. Once the children have read their book we would then hope they could discuss what they have read.  Two key questions to ask all children are "What has happened so far?" and "What do you think will happen next?".

READING RECORDS

Early Years Foundation Stage (Diamonds) Reading Records

Reading at Home
All children in Reception learn phonics at school. They use this to sound out words when reading.
We expect children to read, to an adult at home, for at least 10 minutes each day. The following pages have questions which can be used in discussions to support your child’s understanding of what they have read.

Please find a quiet place to sit and hear your child read. Once they have read their book and discussed it with you please comment and sign their Reading Record each night.

Thank you for your continued help and support.

GLOSSARY

Blend
To combine individual phonemes into a whole word.

Comprehension
To make sense of and understand the text.

Chunking
To break up a longer word and read it one part (chunk) at a time.

Decoding
The process of recognising the sounds that letters make in a word and blending those sounds together to read them.

Digraph
A grapheme using two letters to represent one phoneme. We use the mantra ‘two letters, one sound’.

Fluency
The ability to read accurately with speed and expression. Fluent readers read words automatically without needing to decode.

Grapheme
The letter or group of letters used to represent a particular phoneme when writing.

Oral Blending
Used for the early practice of blending. An adult sounds out each phoneme in order and the children responds by saying the whole word.

Phoneme
The smallest unit of sound that can be identified in words. We sometimes call this a ‘sound’.

Prosody
The rhythm and intonation of reading that displays as expressive reading. It helps to convey meaning and add ‘life’ to reading.

Segment
To identify each of the individual phonemes in a word, working all the way from left to right. It is an important first stage of writing (spelling).

Tricky words
High frequency words that, although decodable in themselves, cannot be decoded by children using the GPCs they have been taught up to that point.
Trigraph
A grapheme using three letters to represent one phoneme. We use the mantra ‘three letters, one sound’.

KS1 (Rubies & Silvers) Reading Records

Reading at Home
All children in Key Stage 1 learn phonics at school. They use this to sound out words when reading.
We expect children to read, to an adult at home, for at least 15 minutes each day. The following pages have questions which can be used in discussions to support your child’s understanding of what they have read.

Please find a quiet place to sit and hear your child read. Once they have read their book and discussed it with you please comment and sign their Reading Record each night.

Thank you for your continued help and support.

GLOSSARY

Blend
To combine individual phonemes into a whole word.

Comprehension
To make sense of and understand the text.

Chunking
To break up a longer word and read it one part (chunk) at a time.

Decoding
The process of recognising the sounds that letters make in a word and blending those sounds together to read them.

Digraph
A grapheme using two letters to represent one phoneme. We use the mantra ‘two letters, one sound’.

Fluency
The ability to read accurately with speed and expression. Fluent readers read words automatically without needing to decode.

Grapheme
The letter or group of letters used to represent a particular phoneme when writing.

Oral Blending
Used for the early practice of blending. An adult sounds out each phoneme in order and the children responds by saying the whole word.

Phoneme
The smallest unit of sound that can be identified in words. We sometimes call this a ‘sound’.

Prosody
The rhythm and intonation of reading that displays as expressive reading. It helps to convey meaning and add ‘life’ to reading.

Segment
To identify each of the individual phonemes in a word, working all the way from left to right. It is an important first stage of writing (spelling).

Tricky words
High frequency words that, although decodable in themselves, cannot be decoded by children using the GPCs they have been taught up to that point.
Trigraph
A grapheme using three letters to represent one phoneme. We use the mantra ‘three letters, one sound’.

Common Words
Children should be able to read and spell these words by the end of Year 2.

Days of the Week

 

Months of the Year

 

Numbers

Sunday

 

January

 

one

ten

Monday

 

February

 

two

twenty

Tuesday

 

March

 

three

thirty

Wednesday

 

April

 

four

forty

Thursday

 

May

 

five

fifty

Friday

 

June

 

six

sixty

Saturday

 

July

 

seven

seventy

 

 

August

 

eight

eighty

 

 

September

 

nine

ninety

 

 

October

 

ten

one hundred

 

 

November

 

eleven

 

 

 

December

 

twelve

 

 

 

 

 

thirteen

 

 

 

 

 

fourteen

 

 

 

 

 

fifteen

 

 

 

 

 

sixteen

 

 

 

 

 

seventeen

 

 

 

 

 

eighteen

 

 

 

 

 

nineteen

 

 

 

 

 

twenty

 

Common Exception Words
Year 1

a

I

school

are

is

she

ask

love

so

be

me

some

by

my

the

come

no

there

do

of

they

go

once

to

friend

one

today

full

our

was

has

pull

we

he

push

were

here

put

where

his

said

you

house

says

yo

Common Exception Words
Year 2

after

could

hour

path

again

cold

improve

people

any

door

kind

plant

bath

even

last

poor

beautiful

every

many

pretty

because

everybody

mind

prove

behind

eye

money

should

both

fast

most

steak

break

father

move

sugar

busy

find

Mr

sure

child

floor

Mrs

told

children

gold

old

water

Christmas

grass

only

whole

class

great

parents

who

climb

half

pass

wild

clothes

hold

past

would

KS2 (Sapphires, Emeralds, Opals & Golds) Reading Records

Reading at Home

All children in Key Stage 1 learn phonics at school. They use this to sound out words when reading.
We expect children to read, to an adult at home, for at least 15 minutes each day. The following pages have questions which can be used in discussions to support your child’s understanding of what they have read.

Please find a quiet place to sit and hear your child read. Once they have read their book and discussed it with you please comment and sign their diary each night.

Thank you for your continued help and support.

Word List - Year 3 and 4
By the end of Year 4, children are expected to read, spell and use these words correctly and independently in their writing.

accident(ally)

disappear

interest

pressure

actual(ly)

early

island

probably

address

earth

knowledge

promise

answer

eight/eighth

learn

purpose

appear

enough

length

quarter

arrive

exercise

library

question

believe

experience

material

recent

bicycle

experiment

medicine

regular

breath

extreme

mention

reign

breathe

famous

minute

remember

build

favourite

natural

sentence

busy/business

February

naughty

separate

calendar

forward(s)

notice

special

caught

fruit

occasion(ally)

straight

centre

grammar

often

strange

century

group

opposite

strength

certain

guard

ordinary

suppose

circle

guide

particular

surprise

complete

heard

peculiar

therefore

consider

heart

perhaps

though/although

continue

height

popular

thought

decide

history

position

through

describe

imagine

possess(ion)

various

different

increase

possible

weight

difficult

important

potatoes

woman/women

Word List - Year 5 and 6
By the end of Year 6, children are expected to read, spell and use these words correctly and independently in their writing.

accommodate

correspond

identity

queue

accompany

criticise (critic + ise)

immediate(ly)

recognise

according

curiosity

individual

recommend

achieve

definite

interfere

relevant

aggressive

desperate

interrupt

restaurant

amateur

determined

language

rhyme

ancient

develop

leisure

rhythm

apparent

dictionary

lightning

sacrifice

appreciate

disastrous

marvellous

secretary

attached

embarrass

mischievous

shoulder

available

environment

muscle

signature

average

equip (–ped, –ment)

necessary

sincere(ly)

awkward

especially

neighbour

soldier

bargain

exaggerate

nuisance

stomach

bruise

excellent

occupy

sufficient

category

existence

occur

suggest

cemetery

explanation

opportunity

symbol

committee

familiar

parliament

system

communicate

foreign

persuade

temperature

community

forty

physical

thorough

competition

frequently

prejudice

twelfth

conscience

government

privilege

variety

conscious

guarantee

profession

vegetable

controversy

harass

programme

vehicle

convenience

hindrance

pronunciation

yacht