Reading in reception at Green Top Primary

Book packs Book banded 1 pack per week Each book pack contains 4 books (some 3 in the higher book bands) Initially you are encouraged to share the book with your child, you can read it to them until they are able to identify the letters in the words.

Phonics The primary skills we use in reception for reading is phonics. We teach the children lowercase phonemes for the individual letters. We blend the sounds together e.g. c-a-t cat, sh-ee-p sheep. There are a set of tricky words which do not link to the phonics scheme and therefore these words need to be learnt by sight. E.g. ‘the’ ‘I’ etc… they will be given out on a keyring.

Understanding We encourage children to not only read the words on the page but to also begin to understand what they have read. For example…  What is the dog’s name?  How did that character feel?  Where is the story set?  Have you ever seen a forest? Staff will write questions and answers in books when they listen to your child in school, we encourage you to do the same at home.

Book changing Books will be changed every Wednesday when you have written in the reading diary. Children will be listened to read once a fortnight – on the Wednesday. If your child is finding reading difficult we will then look at providing strategies and activities separately. If you haven’t yet received your book pack – please see Miss Salter or Miss Carter before you leave.