We believe that reading is a vital life skill that all our children will have the opportunity to develop and master at their time at Gorringe. Reading is composed of a combination of word recognition and comprehension. Comprehension is comprised of inference, retrieval, summarising and vocabulary skills. We have dedicated reading lessons each day, which focus on these skills as well as teaching children to read fluently and with expression.

How can you help at home? 

Children should read aloud everyday to an adult at home. Reading books should be brought into school each day and changed once finished. Please encourage your child to read for a range of purposes e.g ingredients, newspapers, signs and leaflets. It is important that children understand what they read so discuss any new vocabulary and the children’s thoughts on the texts.

Who is the author? Have you read any other books by them?

What genre do you think the text is?

Who are the main characters?

What do you predict might happen?

How is the character feeling?

What do you notice about the words the author uses?

Can you find a synonym for this word?

Please discuss with your child what they have been learning about in English lessons. Encourage them to practise their skills and write for pleasure. This can include comics, character descriptions, stories, recipes and poems. Teachers will be thrilled to see any extra writing work!

Questions to help develop reading:

Asking your child questions whilst reading together will help them to gain a better understanding of the text, develop a broader range of vocabulary and enhance their creativity. 

You may like to use a selection of the questions below when reading with your child:

Fiction:

• Look at the front cover. What could this story be about?
• Who is the author/illustrator? What do they do?
• Where does the story take place? (setting)
• Who are the main characters in the story?
• Can you retell the story using your own words?
• Tell me what this character was like?
• Tell me the most interesting/exciting/funniest/your favourite part of the story? Why?
• What do you think the character feels about...? How can you tell?
• What do you think would have happened if…?
• What do you think is going to happen next? Can you guess the ending?
• Which part of this book did you like best/least? Why?
• How has the author used words/phrases to make this character funny/sad/clever/frightening/excited etc.?
• Do you like the way the story ended? Can you think of a different ending?
• Do you know any more stories like this? Tell me how they are alike.
• Do you know another story with similar characters in? Tell me how they are similar.
• Has anything like this ever happened to you?

Non Fiction:

• Tell me two things you found out that you didn’t know before.
• What does this part of the text tell us about ….?
• Which part of the text tells us about …? 
• Why are some words in bold?
• How does this text/layout help the reader?
• How does a diagram/picture/caption help you to understand the information on this page?
• What can you use to help you find the information you need quickly?
• How does a glossary help us?