RWI - Reception and KS1
Learning to read is the most important thing your child will learn at our school. Everything else depends on it, so we put as much energy as we possibly can into making sure that every single child learns to read as quickly as possible.
Below is a summary of the books that your child will bring home and how you can support them with their reading at home.
What will my child bring home to read?
Book Bag Books
These books contain sounds and words the children know. They are matched to the Storybooks children read in school and are for extra practice. They include activities that we use in class and include parent guidance. Please don’t worry that books may seem too easy. Children enjoy re-reading stories they know well. Their speed and understanding improves on every read.
Book bag books will get changed every Monday. However, please make sure they are in your child’s book bag every day as adults will often listen to your child read.
Paper Books / photocopy Ditty Sheets
This is the story book that they have just read at school. We send them home for extra practice. The aim is to encourage children to read fluently with a ‘story voice’. The books contain the words children have been learning. You can ask them to read you those words. At the back you will find questions which you can ask. Depending on the colour your child has will depend on the day these books will be changed:
- Green, Purple, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Blue and Grey: A new paper book each Wednesday. They will be collected in the following Monday.
- Red books contain more than one story so your child may have these for longer. Please make sure they are in the book bag every day.
- Ditty Sheets: a new sheet every few days.
Picture Books from the School Library
- Read these stories to children or encourage them to retell the story by looking at the pictures. They are not expected to read the story themselves but may like to spot words or phrases that they can read as they become more confident. The children will change these books when they visit the school library with their class each week (you will get a reminder text).
How do I listen to my child read?
- Your child has a Storybook matched to the sounds and words they know (a decodable book) so they should be able to read all the words.
- Please avoid saying, “This book is too easy for you!” but instead say “I love how fluently you can read this book!”
- Encourage them to use ’Special Friends’, ‘Fred Talk’, ‘read the word’.
- Take the time to read the same book over and over again. This will help your child’s reading become quicker and more fluent and helps them to understand what they are reading quickly so they can read ahead.
- Show your child how to read the story in a storyteller voice and encourage them to do the same.
- Share your enjoyment of the story.
- Discuss what has happened in the story.
Where else can I find information?
Watch video tutorials on http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/parents/ to help you to understand more about Read Write Inc. Phonics and how to help your child read and write at home.
Other useful websites:
https://www.facebook.com/miskin.education
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/
https://www.youtube.com/c/RuthMiskinTrainingEdu/videos
Paper Books look like this...
Book Bag Books look like this...
