Reading Books
Dear Parents / Carers
We are making a couple of changes to the way in which we use reading books in school.
At the moment, children in Reception and Year 1 bring home their phonically decodable reading book (so that the children can practise their reading with you) along with a book for pleasure (a book that is for sharing, and could in fact be read by the adult to the child). Children in Year 2 or above, bring home their reading book which is a book that is on Accelerated Reader and so one we know is at the correct reading level for your child.
All of the above will remain in place, but we are also going to add a reading book for pleasure in for all children in Year 2 and above. This book will be a book that your child has chosen because it's something they want to read. It could be a joke book, a non-fiction book, a comic, a magazine, anything really that they want to read.
We know that we are very lucky to have a system like Accelerated Reader (AR) in place in our school. It is integral to ensuring that our children continue to read books at the completely correct level for them once they can decode, and so develop their fluency, automaticity and comprehension skills as they get older. However, we also know that the children are restricted in their choice of reading books due to their ZPD range, which is why we are introducing a reading for pleasure reading book too, so that the children can choose anything they like!
When reading in class, the children will still be required to read their AR book and equally so, when they're heard to read 1 to 1 or in small groups. However, when they're at home, they can choose which book they read and this will be the same when we have shared reading sessions in school, if they go to the book club or in extra reading sessions.
We are working on developing our stock of reading materials in school, so that we have a variety of options for the children to choose from. We would like to offer magazines and comics along with books, so watch this space! The children will also be able to choose an AR book that isn't in their ZPD range as their book for pleasure.
The book for pleasure really is about that; we just want the children to enjoy what they read/ listen to, and so it would be absolutely fine for an adult or older sibling to read to them if they would prefer that. Your children will start to bring this extra book home either at the end of this week or the beginning of next.
If you have any questions about this, then please see your child's Class Teacher or Mrs Barker (deputy@gfschools.co.uk).
Thank you for your ongoing support.
