Reading at Ludlow Junior School

Parent Reading Evening Leonie Faulmann and Sophie Nash Literacy/Reading Leaders Ludlow Junior School

Reading at Ludlow Junior School. Do you read at home with your child? Ever wondered if you should be doing something in particular when you listen to your child read? Ever wanted some useful questions to ask during shared reading time or websites to use to increase your child’s interest in Reading? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then this booklet is for you!! Please read on for handy tips on reading, questions to ask your child when you are sharing a book and useful reading related websites. Reading is an important skill, which is not just about being able to sound out the letters and read words. It is also about showing understanding of what has been read and considering the author’s point of view. In schools, Reading is separated into 7 assessment focuses (AFs) and children are assessed at each AF. Please see the following page to find out more about the AFs. Most importantly, we should help children develop an enjoyment in Reading and a desire to read on their own terms, rather than ‘having to.’ This can be encouraged by shared reading times just before bedtime or by completing different activities to allow your child to think about what they have read. We hope you find this booklet and the Reading Evening useful. Thank you, Sophie and Leonie

Reading Assessment Focuses AF1

I can ‘break the code’ and read words carefully, understanding what they mean.

AF2

I can find answers in the text.

AF3

I can use clues in the text to read between the lines and discover even more information.

AF4

I can talk about how the text has been put together and organised.

AF5

I can explain how the writer has used language for different effects.

AF6

I can explain the writer’s viewpoint and how a text makes the reader feel.

AF7

I can compare and contrast stories set in different cultures and times.

Pupils in Year 3 will read:         

Stories Traditional tales Letters Plays Non chronological reports Instructions Persuasion Information texts Shape poems and calligrams

Year 3 Books: Gorilla by Anthony Browne The Tinderbox by Hans Christian Anderson The Frog Prince continued by Jon Scieszka Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White Krindlekrax by Philip Ridley

… make notes to sum up the main points in a text

… decide how useful a text is, e.g. follow a set of instructions

… read silently for longer periods of time

… know about authors and use this to help me choose books

… talk about the main points in a text in a few words

… recognise prefixes and suffixes and understand the words using clues in the text

… talk about characters and their actions, finding evidence in the text

… pronounce shortened words correctly

… understand the different ‘voices’ in stories … understand the ideas or theme of a text and find evidence to support this … understand how nonfiction is laid out, e.g. titles, sub-headings, labels, diagrams and charts … recognise the difference between playscripts and prose

… read aloud with confidence to an audience

… read the full range of consonant digraphs, e.g. kn, wr, ph

The Year 3 Reader ‘I can . . .’

… find information using contents, indexes and scanning

… imagine settings, moods and feelings from the descriptions in the text

… read aloud well, pausing at full stops, and changing voice for exclamation, question and speech marks.

… recognise dialogue and use the right ‘voice’ when reading aloud

… know who, or what, is being written about by understanding the pronouns used

Pupils in Year 4 will read:          

Stories with historical settings Stories set in imaginary worlds (sci-fi) Stories from other cultures Stories with raise issues and dilemmas Plays Recounts in newspapers and magazines Information texts Explanations Persuasive texts Poetry – shape and poems to perform Year 4 Books: Into the Forest by Anthony Browne The suitcase Kid by Jacqueline Wilson Varjak Paw by S.F. Said Goodnight Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian The Iron Man by Ted Hughes

… tell the difference between fact and opinion

… discuss and decide how effective texts are in meeting their purpose

… read fiction silently for longer periods; close read non-fiction for information

… discuss what and when I like to read

… talk with my friends about our books

… understand how words are formed and use the text to help me understand their meaning

The Y

… read aloud well, pausing at full stops, and changing voice for exclamation, question and speech marks.

… prepare for finding factual information – choosing sources to use … read, using connectives and clauses to help fluency and meaning

… talk about the author’s choice of language to create different effects

… debate issues in texts and find evidence to support the discussion; explore alternative courses of action.

… recognise different types of text and the different ways they are presented

… understand the different uses of the apostrophe

Year 4 Reader ‘I can…’ … use non-fiction texts quickly and decide how useful they are

… understand the use of chapters and paragraphs to organise texts

… track the passing of time in stories

… recognise the different styles of language used for different purposes

Pupils in Year 5 will read:           

Stories Traditional stories Fables Myths and Legends Plays Instructions Reports Explanations Persuasive texts Film narrative Poems (including narrative poems)

Year 5 Books     

Clockwork by Phillip Pullman How to train a dragon by Cressida Cowell Journey to Jo’burg by Beverly Naidoo Children’s Macbeth by Andrew Mathews and Tony Ross The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

… discuss books and authors and recommend titles to my friends

… know what to expect from different types of texts

… use different strategies to work out unknown words

… use the punctuation in complex sentences to help understanding when reading

… use the front cover blurb and reviews to help me choose what I read

… pick up author’s clues to help me understand texts

… respond to what I read – imagining events and how characters feel … can information quickly from different sources and decide which is most useful

… can find my way around texts quickly and effectively

… recognise the features of different text types

The Year 5 Reader ‘I can…’ … recognise the different ways that authors present characters and find evidence in the text

… tell the difference between figurative and literal language and talk about how they affect the reader

… use my own experience and wider reading to judge texts … keep track of a subject through the pronouns in a text

… tell from whose view the story is being told and retell the story from a different viewpoint

Pupils in Year 6 will read:           

Narrative Biography and autobiography Journalistic writing Argument Discursive Information texts Poetry – powerful imagery Plays Explanation Instruction Persuasion

Books: Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce Savage by David Almond Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver The Piano (film narrative) by Aidan Gibbons

… talk about how and why a text affects me as a reader

… use my knowledge of word derivations and form to understand new words in reading

… use my knowledge of grammar to read and understand complex sentences

… discuss what I like to read and give my reasons

… read aloud fluently, pausing at full stops, and changing voice for exclamation, question and speech marks

… understand that connectives signal changes of tone, voice, opinion, in different text-types

… quickly decide how useful a text might be … recognise and describe the styles of different writers

… navigate texts quickly and effectively

… comment critically on the impact of language and themes in my books

The Year 6 Reader ‘I can…’

… analyse and discuss how the author conveys moods, messages, feelings and attitudes using inference and deduction

… decide how successful a text is in affecting the reader in the way the author intended

… use my knowledge of different text types to help me understand the meaning

… can tell the difference between a stated point of view and one that is ‘hidden’ in the text

Activities After reading, children could complete one of the following activities to help them think in more depth about what they have read and so show what they have understood. 1) Setting – children could think about where the book takes place – they could draw and label a picture – try to get them to use the book to help them label the picture. 2) Finding types of words in the book – verbs, connectives, adjectives 3) Use a dictionary to find out the meaning of new words 4) Finding better words for boring words using a thesaurus 5) Look at the structure of the story - what are the main events? Children could write a story map. 6) Draw a picture of a character – use the text to help you label it. Think about their personality. 7) Write a letter to a friend pretending to be a character from your book. 8) Write a different ending to the book you have just read 9) Write a book review – would you recommend this book to someone else? 10) Write a letter to an author.

Questions When reading with your child, you could ask them the following questions to help them think about what they are reading. There are different questions for fiction and non-fiction books. The questions have been separated by the AFs.

Fiction Questions AF2 Where does the story take place? What happened in the story? What did the character look like? Where did the character live? Who are the key characters in the book? Explain something that happened at a specific point in the story? What kinds of people are in the story? AF3 If you were going to interview this character/author, which questions would you ask? Who was the storyteller? How do you know? Which is your favorite part? Why? Predict what you think is going to happen next. Why do you think this? Who would you like to meet most in the story? Why? Is this a place you could visit? Why/why not? What do you think would happen next if the story carried on past the ending in the book? How is the main character feeling at the start/middle/end of the story? Why do they feel that way? Does this surprise you? AF4 Were you surprised by the ending? Is it what you expected? Why/why not? How did you think it would end/should have ended? What is the main event of the story? Why do you think this?

Has the author used an unusual layout in the text? If so, describe it and say why you think they did this? How has the text been organised? Has the author used a variety of sentence structures? Why do you think authors use short sentences? Has the author put certain words in bold or italic? Why have they done this? AF5 Why did the author choose this title? Do you want to read the rest of the text? How does the writer encourage you to read the rest of the text? Can you find examples of powerful adjectives? What do they tell you about a character or setting? Can you find examples of powerful adverbs? What do they tell you about a character, their actions or the setting? Can you find some examples of effective description? What makes them effective? Which part of the story best describes the setting? Find an example of a word you don’t know the meaning of. Using the text around it, what do you think it means? Can you find examples of powerful verbs? What do they tell you about a character, their actions or the setting? AF6 Can you think of another story that has a similar theme eg good over evil, weak over strong, wise over foolish? Why did the author choose this setting? What makes this a successful story? What evidence do you have to justify your opinion? How could the story be improved or What was the most exciting part of the story? Explain your answer as fully as you can. What was the least exciting part of the story? Explain your answer as fully as you can. When the author writes in short sentences, what does this tell you? What genre is this story? How do you know?

AF7 Do you know another story, which deals with the same issues eg social, cultural, moral issues? Have you ever been in a similar situation to a character in the book? What happened? How would you have felt in the same situation? What would you have done differently to the character in a particular situation from the book? How would you feel if you were treated in the same way as the main character? What did the story make you think of? Have you read any other stories that have similar characters to this one? If so, which story was it and what happened? Do you think this book is trying to give the reader a message? If so, what is it?

Non-Fiction AF2 What is the text about? What is the title of the text? Who is the author of the text? What kind of things would you expect to see in this book ? Can you find examples of different features of this text type? Find something that interests you from the text. Explain why you chose that particular part. Where would you look to find out what a technical word means? What is on the cover of the book? What does this tell you about the content inside? AF3 Which parts of the book could help you find the information you need? When would you use the contents page in the book? When would you use the index page in the book? What sort of person do you think would use this book? When might someone use this book? Why? Can you suggest ideas for other sections or chapters to go into the book?

Do you think the author of the book is an ‘expert’ about the topic of the book? Why/why not? AF4 What kind of a text is this? How do you know? Can you find examples of words which tell you the order of something? What is the purpose of the pictures? How does the layout help the reader? What are the subheadings for? Why have some of the words been written in bold? Why have some of the words been written in italics? Can you find an example of a page you think has an interesting layout? Why did you choose it? AF5 Why does this book contain technical vocabulary? Find an example of a technical word. Read the sentence it’s in. What do you think it means based on how it’s used in the sentence? Why do we need a glossary in a text? Are there any examples of persuasive language? AF6 Why has the writer written this text? Have you found any of the illustrations, diagrams or pictures useful? Why/why not? Try to explain fully. Why did the writer choose to present the information in the way they did? How could the information be presented better? What makes this text successful? Are there any features that it hasn’t got? Why do you think it doesn’t have them? Can you think of another text that is similar to this one? What are the similarities and differences between them?

Useful Websites: 1) http://www.letters-and-sounds.com/ Many different games providing support for phonics. The games are linked to the Letters and Sounds approaching to teaching Phonics, which Ludlow Junior School follows. The games are divided up into the different phases of Letters and sounds as well. Each game comes with a description of how to play it and often with choices on which letter sounds to focus on. 2) http://roythezebra.com/reading-games-word-level.html A website which supports phonics skills at a word level basis but it also has some sentence level games too. The word level games range from looking at sounds, games about alphabetical order, words which rhyme and tricky words too (words which cannot be sounded out). The sentence level games focus on punctuation and whether the sentence makes sense. 3) http://primarygames.com/reading.htm A website which has word level games including wordsearches and crosswords.

4) http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/4_11/site/literacy.shtml A website which has a variety of games and activities that are often linked to a character from a BBC children’s program. The different activities also state the ages of children who would be interested in playing them. 5) http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/onlinestory.htm A website with a range of different electronic books – often with voices provided. You could mute the volume and get your child to read the story or share the reading if you wanted to.

6) http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/index.htm A website with a variety of games at word level (phonics skills) and sentence level. 7) http://www.starfall.com/n/level-c/index/load.htm?f A website with a variety of interactive books to read which covers many different types of books including fiction, non-fiction, plays, folk tales and myths. 8) http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/ A website with stories and games to play featuring Clifford the dog! 9) http://www.readingresource.net/websitesforkids.html A website with games and activities ranging from phonics level to reading comprehension. 10) http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/interact-read.htm A website containing a list of other useful reading related websites.

If you have any further questions please ask your child’s class teacher or myself. I hope you find this booklet useful. Happy Reading  Miss Nash Reading Leader