Your child’s reading journey in Reception.
Welcome to the beginning of the most wonderful journey in which your child, whatever their starting point, will become a fluent, confident reader who loves books! For many children at the start of Reception, letters look like squiggles on the page and have no connection to sounds. Learning that letters and sounds are linked – phonics – is the key to reading.
In Reception, we will teach children the sounds of the first set of letters in the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds programme (Phase 2) so they can begin to use phonics to read.
Reading enables children to function successfully in our increasingly text-filled world. But research also tells us that:
• Reading develops children’s vocabulary, understanding of the world and empathy.
• A love of reading is the biggest indicator of future academic success!
What will my child be taught in school this term?
• Your child will be taught phonics for 10–15 minutes every day.
• They will learn to say and read all the single letter sounds (for example, s and t) and some consonant digraphs. A digraph is where two letters make one sound (for example qu and sh).
• We will work really hard to teach your child to blend sounds together to read words.
• They will start reading wordless books and, when they can blend sounds into words, will read Phase 2 books.
• We will provide your child with daily additional practice if they need it.
How can I read a wordless book?
• Wordless books are invaluable as they teach reading behaviours and early reading skills to children who are not yet blending.
• Talk to your child about what they can see in the pictures.
• Point to the images in the circles and find them on the page.
• Encourage your child to make links from the book to their own experiences.
What about words that can’t be read easily with phonics?
• Some common words are unusual and do not make sense with phonics until much later in your child’s reading journey, for example, ‘was’ and ‘the’.
• We call these words ‘tricky words’ and we teach these words differently. We help children to identify the bit that does make sense and the part that is tricky.
• The ‘Phase 2 tricky words’ document provides more information. You will find this in the ‘For parents’ area of the Little Wandle website.
What can I do to support my child at home?
• Ask them what sounds they have learned each day and point out objects in the environment or in books that start with that sound.
• Read to your child daily – choose books that you can enjoy together. The love of reading books we send home is a great place to start! • Listen to them practise reading their phonics book to develop their fluency.
• Ask your child’s teacher if you need extra help with supporting your child – that’s what we’re here for!
Your child’s reading journey in Year 1 & 2
Your child is on their journey to becoming a skilled reader. In Reception, they learned all of the single letter sounds, the consonant digraphs and some vowel digraphs (digraph: two letters, one sound) and trigraphs (three letters, one sound). In Year 1, children will learn the remaining graphemes in the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds programme. These are alternative spellings for the sounds that they already know. The children will become more fluent readers and will read increasingly challenging texts.
• Teaching children the skills of reading will increase their willingness to read.
• Children who love reading choose to read.
• Reading develops children’s vocabulary, understanding of the world and empathy.
• A love of reading is the biggest indicator of future academic success!
To develop a love of reading, children must have the skills to read, which is why we teach them using phonics.
What is my child taught in school?
• In Year 1, children are taught a 30-minute phonics lesson every day.
• They will also have an opportunity to apply their phonic knowledge to reading a book (matched to their level), at least three times a week.
• Your child may need daily additional practice to help secure their learning.
What can I do to support my child at home?
• Listen to your child practise reading their phonics book to develop their fluency.
• Read to your child daily – choose books that you can enjoy together. The love of reading books we send home is a great place to start. • Ask your child’s teacher if you need extra help with supporting your child – that’s what we’re here for!
What if my child comes across a word that they can’t read straight away?
• If your child is unsure of a word, ask them to sound it out and then blend.
• Ask them if they can spot any digraphs (two letters, one sound) or trigraphs (three letters, one sound) before decoding the word.
• Never ask your child to guess words using the pictures or initial sounds as clues. If they are really struggling, just read the word to them.
My child is reading the books fluently at home. Do they need a more challenging book?
• No! We want children to be able to read fluently and not find reading a chore.
• Once they can read fluently, they can focus on adding expression when reading aloud and showing their understanding of the book. Use the prompts on the back page of the books to check your child’s understanding.