How to Help Your Child Succeed

There are many engaging ways to help your child to learn to love reading books and listening to stories. Here are just a few strategies you could use to help you improve your child’s love for reading at home.

• Set up a ritual- a regular reading time establishes a calming routine children love.
• Choose appropriate books-the books your child chooses to read should match their current reading level in order to promote progress and consolidate their reading skills.
• Repeat, repeat, repeat-children who are reading picture books love to read the same story over and over again. They start to memorise it and will pick up the favourite part of the book to join in with. This is particularly effective when reading rhyming books.
• Dramatise it-children love drama. Allow your child to act out being one of the characters in the book. Even though it might slow down the pace of the book, children will get more out of the story if they are actively participating.
• Alternate pages-read the book together and alternate between you reading a page and your child.
• Setting a timer-give your child a set time to read a page to help them to encourage them to read more fluently.
• Going to the library-go to the library with your child to give them a wider variety of books to choose from.
• Reading online together-some children will find reading online more engaging than reading a book. If you find your child is reluctant to read, maybe try getting them to read you something that interests them online.
• Follow their interests- if you choose books about their favorite activities they are more likely to be motivated to want to read them..
• Use the spoken word-many wonderful books exist on CD or via downloads.
• Don’t make books a reward- Don’t tell your child she can listen to a story if she finishes her dinner. When reading is associated with systems of reward and punishment, it isn’t a positive experience.
• Point out words everywhere- Wherever you go, you can show your child that words are an important part of everyday life..
• Demonstrate your own love of books-your child wants to imitate you. If they see books all around the house and know that you like to settle down with one whenever you have a moment to yourself, they’ll learn that books are essential to daily life. Showing them our own love of reading is more powerful than making your child sit through a rigid story time.
• Discuss and complete some activities about the books they bring home from school with your child. Here are some suggestions below you could use:
  • Discuss the characters, plot or setting – What are they like? (mean, kind, friendly) How are they feeling?
  • Make your own book – use the theme, character or information to make your own version.
  • Find the tricky words in the book and check your child can sight read them.
  • Create an alternative front cover for the book.
  • Write a book review
  • What do you think will happen next? Why?
  • What words did the author use to describe the setting?
  • What did you enjoy about the book? How would you change it?
  • What type of story is it? (adventure, science fiction, fairy tale)
  • Is the story funny or scary? How do you know?
  • What were the main events of the story?

As you may be aware, the school currently follows the Read, Write Inc phonics programme at KS1. This is a systematic scheme which teaches a child to read whilst also encouraging a love of stories. Underpinning the teaching of RWI is the belief that children should feel successful when learning to read as this will encourage them to develop their phonics skills further. One way that RWI does this is by allowing children to reread the same book multiple times so that they can practice a range of different skills including; comprehension, speedy reading and fluency. To follow alongside this approach taught in school, we will now be sending home with three books a week: 1. Completely unseen, 2. Performance read, 3. Library book. Books need to be returned every Monday and library books on library days.

At DPA, once a child has completed RWI, they follow the Accelerated Reader scheme which provides them with recommendations for books which match their reading level. Children can then complete a quiz on the book they have read to check their reading and comprehension skills. We believe that reading is an integral skill to learn and we strive to have a partnership between school and home so that this continues seamlessly. Children are given the opportunity to take home a reading book that match their current reading level in order to promote progress and consolidate their reading skills. Each child should read for at least 15 minutes 5 times a week. The title and amount of pages should be noted in reading log and signed.

Across both Key Stages, children are encouraged to read a book more than once in order to develop their pace, fluency and expression. Alongside our parents, we have worked incredibly hard to emphasise the importance of children being praised and celebrated for what they can read, rather than pushing them on before they are ready. This has had a huge impact on the way children at DPA view and value reading and our children are always excited to change their reading books. As well as a levelled reading books, children are also invited to take home a book, which promotes reading for pleasure, from our school library once a week. These books are chosen solely by the children based on their interests, and have inspired our children to widen their book choices. Children are also encouraged to read for an extended period of time on a Wednesday night using our Buster’s Book Club reward incentive. The class who reads for the most amount of minutes each week receives a prize and this promotes collaboration between the students and encourages them to take pride in their reading.

In your child’s contact book you will see a special bookmark which we want you to use to tell us how much your child reads each Tuesday. We need you to write the date and the number of minutes of reading on the bookmark, then sign or initial it – nice and easy! Every Wednesday we will look at the bookmark and add up the scores to see which class has the most reading minutes.

As your child moves through the school their reading target will grow. In Year One they should aim to read (or share a book) for 10 minutes. In Years 2 and 3 the target is 15 minutes and in Years 4, 5 and 6 it is 20 minutes.

In addition to Accelerated Reader and Buster’s Book Club, we also have myON. This is an online platform where the children can access thousands of high-quality, high-interest digital books and news articles which have built-in scaffolds to support readers at every level. This is another way in which we encourage children to practise their reading skills and build up their reading minutes each week. All students from Nursery to Year 6 have a username and password. Please watch one of the videos below on how to use the platform. One is for KS2 pupils, the other is KS1.

AR is part of the Renaissance Reading software package recently adopted by the school to encourage and improve reading, measure growth of the individual reader and to provide quality reading for all.  It allows for personalised learning targets to be set up and for progress to be easily monitored. This short guide will help you to understand the system better so that you can support your child with their reading.

 Your child will choose a book at their own level and read it at their own pace.  When finished, they will take a short quiz on the computer. Passing the quiz is an indication that your child has understood the book. 

 AR gives both children and teachers feedback based on the quiz results, which the teacher then uses to help your child set goals and direct ongoing reading practice. 

 AR is used as part of a comprehensive reading programme in place at Dartford Primary Academy.  While we continue to teach the skills of reading in class through guided reading texts and whole class texts, the AR books chosen by your child will provide them with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they have developed. 

 Pupils using AR are encouraged to progress at their own pace and they have personalised targets based on their reading ability. The aim of AR is for all children to succeed in achieving their targets.

Every child taking part in AR will complete a STAR reading test at the beginning of the year and at the end of each half-term.  It is a twenty-minute multiple-choice reading assessment completed individually on the computer. Questions continually adjust to your child’s responses so if their response is correct, the difficulty level is increased.  If they miss a question or give an incorrect answer, the difficulty level is reduced. 

 The STAR reading test, along with teacher judgement assists us in identifying a child’s ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) range.

After your child takes a STAR reading test, the teacher will assess the results and give them a ZPD reading range.  This is in place of the old ‘benchmarking system’. The range aims to challenge a child without causing frustration or loss of motivation. 

The school has now colour coded all the classroom books and the guided reading books (fiction and non-fiction) according to their ZPD number.

• Green: 0.1 – 1.9
• White: 2.0 – 2.9
• Purple: 3.0 – 3.9 
• Black: 4.0 – 4.9
• Orange: 5.0 – 5.9
• Yellow: 6.0 – 6.9
• Blue: 7.0 – 7.9          

Your child will know their range/colour and the books they should be choosing.  A ZPD can change throughout the year based on STAR reading tests, professional judgement and quiz results.

To ensure children experience success from the outset they begin each year by taking books at the lower end of their ZPD range. 

Children will have their username and password written into their planners to access the quizzes at school and their ZPD range.

Each book in school has a personalised label on the inside cover which shows important information. This is an example of a book label.

B.L. = book level. A child uses their ZPD range to decide which books are appropriate for them to read. A child with a ZPD range of 2.8 – 4.0 would be able to read ‘Air Raid’ (example label) and it will be slightly challenging for them as it is towards the top end of their ZPD range.

Points = points value based on the difficulty of the book and the number of words.

Just because your child can read the words in a book does not mean the content is appropriate. The interest level of the material must be considered.

When your child has finished reading a book, they will be given time to take a quiz independently on the computer.  We aim for all quizzes to be taken within 48 hours of finishing a book. 

• Reading Practice Quizzes. These are the most common type of assessment. The purpose is to determine whether your child has read a book, measure your child’s literal comprehension of the book and provide immediate feedback. Each quiz consists of 3, 5, 10 or 20 multiple-choice questions depending on the book level and length.

 Depending on the book level the quiz will take around 5-10 minutes to complete.  The results are calculated and shown to the child instantly.

Children earn points, or a portion of the book’s points, depending on how well they do on the Reading Practice quiz. For example, a child who takes a 5-question quiz on a book worth 1 point will earn 1 point for 5 correct answers (100%), 0.8 point for 4 correct answers (80%) etc. A child who reads a book worth 5 points and takes a 10-question quiz will earn the full 5 points for 10 correct answers (100%), 4.5 points for 9 correct answers (90%) etc. For quizzes with 3, 5 or 10 questions, a child needs to pass a quiz with a score of 60% or higher to earn points. For quizzes with 20 questions, a child needs to pass with a score of 70% or higher to earn points.

If your child does not do well on a quiz, they will be encouraged to choose a book that is more appropriate. You can help by asking questions about the book as your child reads it at home. 

The number of quizzes continues to grow as new books are added to AR.  Your child can take a quiz when: 

• they have read a book independently;
• a teacher has read a book to them, e.g. class novel;
• they have read a book with someone, e.g. parent, teaching assistant.

 Your child can bring in books from home or the local library to read as part of AR if their teacher feels they are suitable.   To conduct a simple book search to see if a book is on Accelerated Reader go to www.arbookfind.co.uk

The AR program generates personalised targets for each child. These targets are based on how many AR points a child should be able to earn depending on how much time they read and their reading level. The more books your child reads, and the better they do on the quizzes, the more points they will earn. Prizes will be given to children who meet and exceed their targets.

According to research, children who read at least 20 minutes a day with a 90% success rate on AR quizzes see the greatest gains. 

At Dartford Primary School we aim that pupils set aside at least 20 minutes for independent reading each day.

• Make sure that your child always has a reading book at an appropriate level in their ZPD range.
• Encourage and support your child to read each day for 20 minutes, preferably in a quiet space where there are fewer distractions.
• Encourage your child to read over the school holidays too.
• Ask how a quiz went. To keep up to date with your childs progress log onto Home Connect which show live progress. For further information on Home Connect please see guidance video.
• Enjoy books together – research from our students shows that one of the most motivating factors in encouraging those students who perceive themselves to be behind in their reading skills to read is having a trusted adult to talk about their books with. Encourage your child to read with you and/or discuss what they have read. A child may be able to decode and read the words but may not have understood it, so asking questions about the book is important. Reading with your child, no matter what the age, is an important part of developing good reading skills and a lifelong love of reading.
• Treat them to new books from your local library.
• Please don’t push your child to read the next level before they are ready.
• Please watch our video on Renaissance Home Connect for further information

Each classroom has their own library as well as access to the whole school library. All students also have access to the digital library myOn.

Log on to www.arbookfind.co.uk to check whether the book is in your child’s level.

Type in the title. If no result is found, then there may not be a quiz yet – there is a tab at the top of the page to request for a new quiz to be written.

Once pupils have reacher their termly target, pupils are able to read for pleasure.

Yes. This is wonderful. Not only does your child’s reading benefit but so does your relationship. You sit close together, sharing something. You can talk about topics which are raised. You are also more in tune with what is going on.

If a child has read the majority of the book themselves, it is considered that it has been read independently.