Reading at home

The information below guides parents through how to support with reading at home, however please get in touch at anytime if you have any questions or comments on this topic.

Reading at home with your child is one of the easiest, yet most important ways in which you can support your child. Regularly reading with, and to, your child will develop important skills that will boost their reading ability and success across the curriculum.

The Reading Environment

Try to make reading at home a calm, special and enjoyable part of the day, so that children learn to love reading as they grow. Make time for reading and approach the activity with a positive mindset and enthusiasm.

Reading to your child and Book Chat

Children are never too old to be read to! Hearing a text read helps children of all ages to learn the pattern and flow of the English language. It helps to develop fluency, expression and intonation. Another way to enhance these skills is through listening to audio books.

When reading to your child, make the most of the experience by not just reading the words but talking about the book too - we call this Book Chat.

A video example of Book Chat - One Fox (Age 5+)

A video example of Book Chat - House that Once Was (Age 7+)

A video example of Book Chat - The Same Inside (Age 9+)

Listening to your child read

At St James's we recommend hearing your child read every day - a little a day, every day. The minimum we ask is three times a week. All pupils have a Reading Record in which to record what they have read at home and the 'comments' column allows you, and as they get older the children, to reflect on their reading. Click here to read our Reading Records guidance.

Reading material

Texts for your children to read to you...

In Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils will bring home their Little Wandle book each week. This is the book they have been reading all week in school so they should be able to read it with confidence and expression. It links directly with their phonics knowledge.

Read the Little Wandle letter to parents at the bottom of this page.

In KS2, pupils will bring books home to read to you which have been allocated based on their reading ability in terms of decoding and comprehension.

Texts for you to read to them...

All pupils will regularly visit the school library and borrow books to share at home. These may be at the right level for your child to read independently, but if not you can read to them. Choosing books from a vast array at a library is part of the magic of being a reader and encourages pleasure in reading. Click here to find out more about joining Stourbridge Library. As children get older they will become more skilled at selecting books they can read independently - this is skill we support them with at school.

Find your own reading material...

Remember you can always find your own reading material to share at home. Read whatever children show an interest in, for example, recipes, construction manuals or comics. Visit your local library or charity shop to keep costs low.

Useful links:

Booktrust bookfinder tool

Book Trust recommendations

Find out more about Stourbridge library - click here

Find out more about our school library - click here

Phonics

When children first learn to read, they will take part in daily phonics lessons here at St James's. As a school we follow Little Wandle - click here to visit their parent page. Children in Reception, Year 1 and 2 will bring home a reading practice book at least once a week inline with their phonics ability (as well as a reading for pleasure book). Click here to visit our phonics page.

Asking Questions when reading

At St James's we aim to develop a child's ability to decode the print on a page alongside their ability to understand and analyse texts. There are support pages for parents in the front and back cover of many of the books your child will bring home. In addition these question banks could be used. :