English Home Learning
Ten Top Tips for Reading to Your Child
- Make reading to your child an enjoyable experience. Introduce each new book with excitement.
- Try to find a quiet time so that both of you can see and hear the book read out loud.
- Show curiosity in what you are going to read. You might say, “Oh no! I think Arthur is going to get even angrier now.”
- The first time you engage with the book, read the whole story or chapter without stopping too much. If you think your child might not understand something, model an explanation: “I think what’s happening here is that…”
- Chat about the story: “I wonder why he did that. Oh no, I hope she’s not going to… I wouldn’t have done that, would you?”
- Avoid asking too many questions that simply test what your child remembers.
- Link stories and non-fiction texts to your own experiences, e.g. “This reminds me of…”
- Read your favourite stories over and over again. Invite your child to join in with the parts they know, or suggest a different ending.
- Read with enthusiasm. Do not be embarrassed to try out different voices for the characters. Your child will enjoy the entertainment and start to understand characterisation.
- The Year 6 children love being read to. Don’t forget to read to them, too.
Common Concerns
My child is reluctant to read
If your child seems to be reluctant to read, visit a local library and ask for booklists and recommendations. Some libraries are proud to offer services that enable you to submit your child’s likes and dislikes. They will then provide you with some suggestions or booklists. The Norfolk Children’s Book Centre does this. Visit them at www.ncbc.co.uk. Also, take advantage of second-hand book websites. Very often, the ‘used’ books appear to be almost as good as new, and are much cheaper! Have a look at https://www.abebooks.co.uk/ and similar websites. Just type in the title and/or author, e.g. The Sheep-Pig by Dick King Smith. With this website, the price for packing and postage is clear. Of course, please choose a book shop or website of your own preference.
My child only reads books about dragons
Perhaps you are concerned that your child only seems to read a particular genre or text type. Be positive and pleased that you have noticed what arouses your child’s curiosity. It is good that your child is showing signs of deep involvement. Ensure that your child has the time and freedom to become involved in activities that interest them. This shows that your child can maintain focus for a sustained period of time. Introduce a different genre, text type or topic every now and then. Don’t worry. At school, they will have access to many different texts across the curriculum.
I am not sure if the book is too easy or too challenging
Sometimes parents are worried about giving their child a book that is perceived to be too easy. Reading progress for some children may be slower as they learn to decode. Children need to read a text a couple of times to decode and understand it. When a text has become more familiar and seemingly ‘easy’, this is an opportunity to encourage the child to critically engage with it by discussing the plot, focusing on how characters have been portrayed, or identifying how and why information has been presented in a certain way. By Year 6, they may need to interact with a text several times to retrieve information, make inferences and make justified comments about the author’s use of language.
On other occasions, parents are concerned that a book is too challenging. However, sections of the programme of study for English advocate children listening to and discussing a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently. Having a challenging book that is read to them by an adult is an opportunity for your child to hear vocabulary and ideas that they would not be able to access themselves. So, read to your child!
Phonics Flashcards
These packs are available to purchase from school; please see your child’s teacher for further details.
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Set 1 cards for Nursery, Reception, Year 1 |
Set 2 & 3 cards for Reception (Summer term), Year 1, Year 2 |
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My Reading and Writing Kit 1 for Reception |
My Reading and Writing Kit 3 for Reception (Summer term) & beginning Year 1 |
Click here to view Information for Parents: What is Read Write Inc. Phonics?
Click here to view Information for Parents: How to say the sounds
Click here to view Information for Parents: Sound-blending
Click here to view Information for Parents: The Phonics Screening Check
Helping with English Grammar
Below, are the grammar topics that your child will be studying each half term in class. The Trust have also produced grammar homework sheets for children to complete every week which will be kept in a plastic wallet. There is no need to purchase grammar guides, as the homework sheets give a full explanation of the grammar being studied and examples.
| KS2 GRAMMAR | YEAR 3 | YEAR 4 | YEAR 5 | YEAR 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Autumn 1 |
1. Sentences |
1. Capital letters |
Revise Year 3 and 4 grammar.
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Revise Year 3, 4 and 5 grammar.
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Autumn 2 |
8. Commas |
5. Direct speech |
Revise Year 3 and 4 grammar.
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Revise Year 3, 4 and 5 grammar.
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Spring 1 |
14. The apostrophe of possession |
10. Apostrophe of possession |
Revise grammar from autumn term.
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SATs and end of key stage preparation Selecting language that shows good awareness of the reader (e.g. the use of the first person in a diary; direct address in instructions and persuasive writing). Selecting grammatical structures that reflect what the writing requires (e.g. using contracted forms in dialogues in narrative; using passive verbs to affect how information is presented; using modal verbs to suggest degrees of possibility). Using a range of devices to build cohesion (e.g. conjunctions, adverbials of time and place, pronouns, synonyms) within and across paragraphs. Using verb tenses consistently and correctly. Using the range of punctuation taught at key stage 2 (e.g. inverted commas, semi-colons, colons, brackets, dashes).
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Spring 2 |
18. Tenses |
15. Relative clauses |
Revise grammar from autumn term.
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Summer 1 |
23. Modal verbs |
19. Adverbs and adverb phrases |
Revise Year 3, 4 and 5 grammar.
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Summer 2 |
29. Adverbs |
24. Using nor |
Revise Year 3, 4 and 5 grammar.
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Helping with Spelling
Your child will usually have a spelling test every week. Please help your child to learn the spellings before the test, and then revise them with your child after.
There are many ways to practise spellings:
- Ask your child to write the spellings out;
- Support your child in using the ‘look, cover, spell, check’ method;
- Create home-made, colourful posters together for the words your child is having difficulty in spelling. Pin them up in a prominent place at home;
- Play a game by looking for words within words, e.g. ‘iron’ and ‘men’ in ‘environment’;
- Break the words up into syllables or chunks, e.g. ono, mato, poe, ia – onomatopoeia;
- Read regularly. Ask your child to follow the text while you read. Also, encourage your child to read independently. This will help increase sight recognition so he or she will be able to check whether the spelling attempt ‘looks correct’.
Below, are the current KS2 spelling lists for Autumn 1. Please review these with your child to check that he or she can still spell them accurately.
| YEAR 3 AUTUMN 1 | ||||||
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| WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4 | WEEK 5 | WEEK 6 | WEEK 7 |
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First 10 words from NC Year 3 and 4 List: accident |
Key vocabulary from Shackleton’s Journey: keen |
Adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters to words with more than one syllable. forgetting |
Second set of 10 words from NC Year 3 and 4 List: breath |
Key vocabulary from Shackleton’s Journey: sail |
The / I / sound spelt y elsewhere than at the end of words: hymn |
Third set of 10 words from NC Year 3 and 4 List: circle |
| YEAR 4 AUTUMN 1 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4 | WEEK 5 | WEEK 6 | WEEK 7 |
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Revise the first 10 words from NC Year 3 and 4 List: accident |
Key words from Charlotte’s Web: runt |
Adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters to words with more than one syllable. permit |
Revise the second set of 10 words from NC Year 3 and 4 List: breath |
Key words from Charlotte’s Web: errand |
The /I/ sound spelt y elsewhere than at the end of words: mythical |
Revise the third set of 10 words from NC Year 3 and 4 List: circle |
| YEAR 5 AUTUMN 1 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4 | WEEK 5 | WEEK 6 | WEEK 7 |
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First 10 words from NC Year 5 and 6 List: accommodate |
Key words from Tales of the Greek Heroes: trident |
Endings which sound like /∫es/ spelt – cious or – tious: vicious |
Second set of 10 words from NC Year 5 and 6 List: availableaverage awkward bargain bruise category cemetery committee communicate community |
Key words from Tales of the Greek Heroes: plough |
Endings which sound which sound like /∫el/: official |
Third set of 10 words from NC Year 5 and 6 List: competitionconscience conscious controversy convenience correspond criticise curiosity definite desperate |
| YEAR 6 AUTUMN 1 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4 | WEEK 5 | WEEK 6 | WEEK 7 |
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Revise the first 10 words from NC Year 5 and 6 List: accommodate |
Key words from Private Peaceful: skeletal |
Endings which sound like/es/ spelt – cious or – tious: gracious |
Revise the second set of 10 words from NC Year 5 and 6 List: availableaverage awkward bargain bruise category cemetery committee communicate community |
Key words from Private Peaceful: vulgar |
Endings which sound which sound like/el/: residential |
Revise the third set of 10 words from NC Year 5 and 6 List: competitionconscience conscious controversy convenience correspond criticise curiosity definite desperate |
Inspiring Resources
The World Book Day website is a useful resource all year round. Click here to visit the website.
Use the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education’s (CLPE) website to find out about your favourite poets and their poems. You can watch and hear poets being interviewed and reading their poems. Click here to visit the website.