Reading is an essential skill and apparently it takes nearly 23 years for a reader to become an expert. So even though our children are becoming more confident each year, they are not there YET!

At Sheringham we have been learning about the ‘Super Seven Strategies’ that can help our children become more fluent readers.

They are: predicting, summarising, clarifying, questioning, inferring, making connections and evaluating. Ask your child what they all mean and how we use them in reading.

How you can help with reading:

Reading about a topic that your child is particularly interested in will inspire them to think more deeply about the text and will enable them to make connections with their own experiences and existing knowledge. Find articles, stories and websites linked to your child's interests and use these texts for reading and discussion. Some useful websites include:

http://www.ngkids.co.uk/

National Geographic Kids has hundreds of articles and fact files, covering subjects including history, geography and science. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround

This news website is full of articles and videos about current affairs. Use these texts to stimulate discussion, asking your child to respond to what they have read by summarising the main points or giving their opinion on the subject matter.

http://www.storylineonline.net/

This online bank of stories allows children to hear a story being read. This means they don't have to focus on decoding the text and can instead use all of their brain power for comprehending what is happening in the story.

Reading a wider range of texts helps all children to apply and develop their reading skills in a fun and informative way.

For further ideas, see the ‘10 ways to help your child’s reading’ handout.

What websites are there to help?

Bug Club:

Bug Club is a home reading website we have started to use. Each child has their own username and password that allows them to log on to and read the books the teachers have allocated to them. Please ask your child’s teacher if your child does not have this information. The following link will take you to the Bug Club website. Look out for the bug faces on each page when reading – as you have to answer questions on what you have read to ensure you can collect some coins!

https://www.activelearnprimary.co.uk/login?c=0

Newham Library:

There are a number of positive outcomes from taking your child to the library, however we do understand this is not always possible. The following link will take you to the website where you can sing up for electronic books (ebooks and audiobooks) and a link to signing up to a library near you.

https://www.newham.gov.uk/Pages/Category/Libraries.aspx

All year 4 classes have been, or will be visiting Manor Park library this term. If possible, you could get your child to take you or other family members there; they could give you a tour and perhaps encourage the whole family to apply for membership!