1. Parent Reading Meeting Pandas and Leopards 25 th September 2014

2. Fostering a life long enjoyment of books ☺ Sharing books ☺ Enjoying listening to stories ☺ Library local and school ☺ Book Fair ☺ World Book Day ☺ Dressing up and role play ☺ Drama

3. Reading in School Your child will be learning to read at school through a variety of activities e.g. ☺ Daily Literacy sessions ☺ Shared reading every day e.g. from a Big Book ☺ Talking about stories, asking and answering questions ☺ Listening to a story or poem every day ☺ Guided reading every week (reading within a small group of children led by the Teaching Assistant or Class Teacher) - the children are taught specific reading skills during these sessions.

4. We teach children ☺ Enjoyment and appreciation of books ☺ Phonics (letter/sound knowledge) ☺ High Frequency Words ☺ Letter Formation ☺ Comprehension

5. Synthetic Phonics We teach the children synthetic phonics which encourages the children to learn and use the ‘pure’ sounds that letters make. f s m muhanuh

6. Phonics ☺ 2 or 3 letter/sounds are introduced each week (letter sounds not letter names). The children then progress to letter combinations e.g. th, sh, ch, ee, ea. These are taught in the order recommended in ‘Letters and Sounds’ (DCSF document) ☺ We use the Jolly phonics scheme to teach phonic skills. It appeals to visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learners ☺ Blending and segmenting – starting with CVC’s (Consonant/vowel/consonant) (blending c-a-t = cat, segmenting cat = c-a-t)

7. Sound pronunciations http://www.focusonphonics.co.uk/sound.htm

8. ‘Tricky’ words ☺ In Reception, the children will bring home flash cards. ☺ In Y1, the children will bring home tricky words to read by sight. ☺ In Y2, the children will have tricky words to revise and learn to spell. ☺ We will be looking to see if the children use these in their writing.

9. Letter Formation ☺ Letter formation linked to phonics teaching ☺ Most letters start with c, l, r ☺ Pencil grip

10. Developing comprehension Asking questions about what they’ve read. Developing understanding of characters’ feelings. Using pictures to understand the story further.

11. Choosing books to take home ☺ Children are able to choose books from a range of different reading schemes. ☺ The reading books are stored in colour coded boxes. ☺ Initially the children will be supported in their book choice to ensure an appropriate level of challenge. ☺ In Years 1 and 2, the children are encouraged and expected to choose for themselves from a specific colour coded box. ☺ Home reading books will usually be changed twice a week, or as appropriate depending on the length of book.

12. Our School Library ☺ Children will be given the opportunity to take out a book to share with you at home. ☺ This book can then be changed regularly in addition to the child’s individual reading book. ☺ We would really like some help in our school library! Please let us know if you are able to offer some time!

13. Supporting reading at home ☺ We expect you to hear your child read daily (5 - 10 minutes). ☺ Please make a note in the reading record book. ☺ Find somewhere comfortable to sit –away from distractions, switch off the TV! ☺ If your child is feeling very tired – read to them and encourage them to listen and ask/answer questions. ☺ Spend time talking about the story.

14. Reading Record Books Please make a note in the reading diary of any reading undertaken at home. Please feel free to add any comments. Teachers will continue to keep their own records in school. Reading records should be kept in book bags every day. They are not for general or urgent notes as these books are JUST for reading comments and will be looked at on a Monday morning. If your child has a friend to tea please remember that these records are confidential (between home and school).

15. Please Remember… Children learn at their own pace which may be different to their best friend or siblings! However if you have any concerns please come and see the class teachers.

16. ‘What is the use of a book,’ thought Alice ‘without pictures or conversations?’ Lewis Carroll