Supporting Reading At Home

Reading, being read to, and sharing books in the home helps to build a child’s vocabulary and understanding of the world. At Nexus, we want to support you at home to embed the skills that we are learning in school and provide our young people with the best possible chances of being successful readers.

5 top tips for reading at home with your child or young person

1. Don’t worry too much about the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of reading each day. Books are great—but leaflets, comics, recipes and instructions on a webpage can all be great too. Following a recipe to make some cupcakes is valuable reading. Be on the lookout for reading, wherever it is!
2. All reading matters. Shared reading is about ‘reading with’, not just ‘reading to’. So, ask lots of ‘Wh’ questions, such as Who? What? When? Where? Why? Try them when talking about books: for example, ‘what do you think Harry is feeling?’
3. Build reading into daily routines. Find a regular time for sharing stories so that your child can expect it as part of their routine.
4. Encourage your child to follow their interests. In school we have a range of books linked to a student’s reading phase or book band and whilst this is important, it is equally so to encourage them to look at books of their choice. They will be able to bring books home from our library that they have chosen. This is more likely to keep motivation and interest high.
5. National Literacy Trust research has found that, when used appropriately and with an adult, technology can provide an important route into reading for many children. This can include listening to audio books or watching videos of stories being read. There are some fantastic adaptations on Youtube and we are building our own bank of stories read and signed by Nexus staff.

We have created some ‘home reading’ packs which include an overview of reading at home, suitable questions where relevant, a book or books of choice and a bookmark to record when your child or young person has read. When the bookmark is full it will earn your child a raffle ticket, which gives a chance at winning a prize from the vending machine at the end of term.

If you have any questions about reading at home or would like extra support please do contact your child’s Class Teacher.