Reading | Guidance for Parents and Carers
What will my child bring home?
The expectation is that all children read a minimum of 5 times per week, made up of children reading their ‘RWI Book’ twice and their ‘RWI Book Bag Book’ three times. Please remember to send your child’s Reading Diary into school daily for it to be checked by a member of staff so your child can be praised and rewarded for their reading efforts each day.
The RWI Storybooks link directly to the sounds and ‘tricky words’ that they have learned in their RWI session in school that week. Your child will have read this exact book each day in their RWI session. Therefore, your child should be confident reading this book, and you may notice that they begin to read more effortlessly. Please encourage your child to sound out the words by saying ‘Fred talk, read the word’ or ‘Fred in your head’ or ‘speedy read’, reading the book at least twice to promote high levels of fluency, accuracy and understanding. The RWI Book Bag Book matches the sounds and ‘tricky words’ that your child has learnt in their RWI sessions for that week, but they have not seen this actual book yet. Please encourage your child to ‘sound out’ and decode the words in this book, reading the book at least 3 times to promote high levels of fluency, accuracy and understanding.
Sometimes, they may bring home the ‘Last and Past’ Storybook – a previously read RWI Storybooks for extra practice. The children enjoy re-reading stories they know well. Their fluency improves on every reading.
They will also bring home a ‘Share and Enjoy’ book to share at home. This is an opportunity to develop and nurture your child’s love for reading. There is a selection of both fiction and non-fiction books available. As these books will not link directly to the sounds that your child has learnt in their Phonics sessions, Parents/Carers are encouraged to model using expression and fluency when reading to their child. Parents/Carers can also develop their child’s comprehension skills by asking them questions relating to what you have read to them and encouraging them to predict by asking ‘what will happen next?’. Children will be able to change this book as little or often as they desire. The more they read and have read to them, the faster progress they will make!
Please avoid saying, “This book is too easy for you!” but instead say “I love how well you can read this book!”
We also use the RWI Phonics eBook Library Subscription. Each week, we will assign your child the book they have read during the week to read on a tablet or other device. There are also Phonics practice games and quizzes to match each book.
Each week, we will send home QR codes with links to lessons that match the sounds and words your child has been learning in school. There are lessons to support children at every stage of the RWI programme.
Why do we read each book three times?
At Ford Primary School, children read RWI Storybooks that match the sounds they can read. They read each RWI Storybook three times in class with their partner.
Re-reading the same book helps children to become confident readers. Each time they re-read, they build their fluency/speed and comprehension. They love reading and want to read because they can read all of the words in the Storybook.
Helpful Websites:
Ruth Miskin Parents’ Page:
https://www.ruthmiskin.com/parents/
Ruth Miskin Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/miskin.education
Free e-books for home reading:
http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/Reading/
More Information for Parents
Reading at Home and RWI Introduction Letter September 2024.docx