Learning and Teaching

Home reading

As part of homework, all children across Prep-Year 6 should be reading each night. 

• Prep - Year 2 - average 10-15 minutes

• Year 3 and 4 - average 15 minutes

• Year 5 and 6 - average 20 minutes 

Your child may bring home a reader from school or, for our older children, may use a book from home.  

Learning to read is about listening and understanding as well as working out print. Through hearing stories, children are exposed to a rich and wide vocabulary. This helps them build their own vocabulary and improve their understanding when they listen, which is vital as they start to read. Sharing a book with your child allows you to share adventures and experiences in the safe world of the book. It allows you to ask questions, talk about what has happened and decide what you think together. 

At the moment, the Year Preps are beginning their sound journey. Their home reading will involve practicing sounds they have learned for the next few weeks. After they have learned the S, A, T, P, I, N sounds, they will begin to bring home decodable readers. 

Decodables

Across the Year Prep and Year 1/2 Communities, students will be taking home decodables for their home reading. These books only contain words that can be read using the sounds the children have been taught up to that point. Your child’s teacher will tell your child which book tub they need to choose from. The decodable books include words to blend and tricky words to practise pages. This means that you and your child will be reading the same book over a series of days. 

Year Prep / 1/ 2 Parents

Please ensure that your child chooses their home reading book from the tub that their teacher has told them to. This is the level that is 'easy' for your child allowing them to use the skills they have already accomplished and experience success when reading at home. 

Deborah Courtney

(Director of Learning and Taching)