Reading at IVJS Update

​Dear Parents and Carers,

At our school, we believe that reading is the key to learning. It opens up imagination, builds vocabulary, improves writing and helps children succeed across the whole curriculum. Most importantly, it gives children confidence and enjoyment in learning.

While we teach reading every day at school, regular reading at home makes the biggest difference to your child’s progress. Just 10–15 minutes of reading each evening helps children improve their fluency, understanding and love of books.

Why is reading at home so important?

• It builds confidence and fluency
• It improves vocabulary and understanding of new words
• It supports writing and spelling
• It develops knowledge of the world
• It creates a positive lifelong reading habit

Even if your child is a fluent reader, listening to them read aloud and discussing books together helps deepen their understanding.

Questions you can ask while reading together
Talking about books is just as valuable as reading them. Here are some simple questions to support your child’s comprehension:

Skills and Questions:
Retrieving information
What has happened so far? Who are the main characters?

Prediction
What do you think will happen next? Why?

Inference
How do you think this character feels? What makes you think that?

Vocabulary
What does this word mean? Can we think of another word that means the same?

Summarising
Can you tell me the most important parts so far?

Explaining
Why do you think the author wrote it this way?
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Making connections
Does this remind you of another story or something in real life?

Reading Records – New Reward System (Starting Autumn 2)
To encourage and celebrate regular home reading, we are introducing a Reading Record Reward System from Autumn Term 2.

• Children should bring their reading record to school every day
• Reading records should show regular reading at home and be signed by a parent, a carer or a reflective comment by the child
• One reading record from each class will be selected each week and entered into a raffle
• At the end of each term, a raffle winner will be chosen to receive a reward
• The more consistent the reading, the more chances to win

This system encourages children to develop positive daily reading habits and helps us build a strong reading culture across the school.
Thank you for your support with reading at home. Working together, we can help your child become a confident, fluent and enthusiastic reader. If you would like any help choosing books or supporting your child’s reading, please speak to your child’s class teacher.
 
Kind regards,

Ms. Wick