Remarkable Reading
How many books have you read so far? To earn your Remarkable Reading rewards, you need to read as many books as you can and review them.
Prizes!
| Remarkable Reading Reward | Books Read: |
| Sticker | 5 |
| Certificate | 10 |
| Book Mark | 20 |
| Badge | 25 |
| Pencil | 30 |
| Wristband | 40 |
| Gel Pen | 50 |
| Book | 60 |
| Book Voucher | 75 |
Extreme Reading
Where is the most interesting place your child has ever read a book? Whether it is up a tree or on top of a mountain, we want your photos! Your challenge is to take pictures of your child reading somewhere extreme and email it to us at reading@riverside.bardaglea.org.uk
We reward certificates to pupils taking part in the challenge during our assemblies.
We are really looking forward to seeing who in school has such a passion for reading that they have to do it anywhere and everywhere!
A huge well done to the pupils who have taken part in the extreme reading challenge at Riverside.
Read Write Inc
How can I support my child to learn Set 1 sounds and to blend?
- Use pure sounds, not letter names. Watch the ‘how to say the sounds’ parent film on https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/
- Watch the ‘Reading the stretchy sounds with your child’, ‘Reading the bouncy sounds with your child’ and ‘Reading the digraphs with your child’ parent films on https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/ to see how to teach Set 1 sounds
- Practise reading known Set 1 Speed Sounds cards speedily. If needed, show your child the picture side of the card to help them remember the sound.
How can I support my child to learn Set 2 or 3 sounds?
- Watch the ‘Set 2/3 tutoring’ film on https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/
- Help your child practise reading known Speed Sounds cards speedily. If needed, show your child the picture side of the card to help them remember the sound.
What is Fred Talk?
Phonics, teachers will introduce your child to a toy frog called Fred once he or she is ready to start reading words.
Fred can only say the sounds in a word and needs your child to help him read the word. Fred will say the sounds and children will work out the word. For example, Fred will say the sounds c–a–t, and children will say the word cat. This is Fred Talk: sounding out the word.
Here are two ways you can use Fred Talk at home:
- Play Fred Games together – see Fred Games document on https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/
- Speak like Fred throughout the day e.g. time for l-u-n-ch! Let’s p-l-ay!
- Watch the ‘Sound-blending’ parent film on https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/
To help support the early stages of letter formation, we use the Read Write Inc sayings when writing. We also encourage pupils to use the sayings for each diagraph to help remember them. These documents can be found below.
Your child’s reading experience is much more than the reading book which comes home from school. Reading is happening all the time in a classroom and in the school. It is taught in specific Guided Reading and English lessons, but children are practising and using their ‘reading’ constantly across all subjects too.
Parents can support this ‘reading journey’ through regular reading at home. Reading to and with your child every evening for at least ten minutes can make a dramatic difference to a child’s achievement within school.
Here are some top tips for storytime:
- Make it a treat – introduce each new book with excitement
- Make it a special quiet time – cuddle up!
- Show curiosity in what you’re going to read
- Read the story once without stopping so they can enjoy the whole story. If you think your child might not understand something say something like ‘Oh I think what’s happening here is that…”
- Chat about the story e.g. I wonder why he did that? Oh no, I hope she’s not going to…
- Avoid asking questions to check what they remember
- Link to other stories and experiences you have shared e.g. this reminds me of…
- Read favourite stories over and over again – encourage your child to join with the bits they know. Avoid saying ‘not that story again!’
- Use different voices – be enthusiastic!
- Love the book – read with enjoyment
Please refer to the documents below for further guidance and support on the use of questioning when reading with your child.
The links below are some questions and prompts you can use when reading with your child at home.
Children are taught the skills of reading (outlined in the National Curriculum and the KS1 and KS2 test domains) through the use of VIPERS which were created by Rob Smith (The Literacy Shed).
The Reading Vipers is used by both KS1 and KS2 with a little adaption. The main difference being in the S.
Sequence – KS1
Summarise – KS2
In KS1, ‘Explain’; is not one of the content domains, rather it asks children why they have come to a certain conclusion, to explain their preferences, thoughts and opinions about a text.
In KS2, the Explain section covers the additional content domains of 2F, 2G and 2H which are not present in KS1.
What are Vipers?
VIPERS is an anagram to aid the recall of the 6 reading domains as part of the United Kingdom’s reading curriculum. They are the key areas which we feel children need to know and understand in order to improve their comprehension of texts.
VIPERS stands for:
The 6 domains focus on the comprehension aspect of reading and not the mechanics: decoding, fluency, prosody etc. As such, VIPERS is not a reading scheme but rather a method of ensuring that teachers ask, and students are familiar with, a range of questions. They allow the teacher to track the type of questions asked and the children’s responses to these which allows for targeted questioning afterwards.
Key Stage 1 (Year 2)
In Key Stage One children reading skills are taught and practised using the VIPERS during whole class reading sessions.
| KS1 Content Domain Reference | VIPERS |
| 1a draw on knowledge of vocabulary to understand texts | Vocabulary |
| 1b identify/ explain key aspects of fiction and non-fiction, such as characters, events, titles and information. | Retrieve |
| 1c identify and explain the sequences of events in texts | Sequence |
| 1d make inferences from the text | Infer |
| 1e predict what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far | Predict |
Key Stage 2
In Key Stage Two children reading skills are taught and practised using VIPERS during whole class reading sessions.
| KS2 Content Domain Reference | VIPERS |
| 2a Give/explain the meaning of words in context | Vocabulary |
| 2b retrieve and record information/ identify key details from fiction and non/fiction | Retrieve |
| 2c summarise main ideas from more than one paragraph | Summarise |
| 2d make inferences from the text/ explain and justify inferences with evidence from the text | Infer |
| 2e predict what might happen from details stated or implied | Predict |
| 2f identify/explain how information/ narrative content is related and contributes to meaning as a whole | Explain |
| 2g identify/explain how meaning is enhanced through choice of words and phrases | Explain |
| 2h make comparisons within a text | Explain |
Looking for a new book to dive into? We can help! Here are the recommended book list for your next topic.
Please click on the link below to access the book list for each topic:
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 | |
| Reception | Let’s Explore | Marvellous Machines | Long Ago | Ready Steady Grow | Animal Safari | On the Beach |
| Year 1 | Childhood | Bright Lights, Big City | School Days | |||
| Year 2 | Movers and Shakers | Coastline | Magnificent Monarchs | |||
| Year 3 | Though the Ages | Rocks, Relics and Rumbles | Emperors and Empires | |||
| Year 4 | Invasion | Misty Mountain, Winding River | Ancient Civilisations | |||
| Year 5 | Dynamic Dynasties | Sow, Grow and Farm | Groundbreaking Greeks | |||
| Year 6 | Maafa | Frozen Kingdom | Britain at War | |||