Homework
Home Reading
Reading is a vital skill which opens many doors, both academically and in wider life. We expect our pupils to read at home daily. In year 1 the main focus is on decoding (reading the words by recognising spoken sounds as letters and groups of letters). Once pupils know all of the necessary sounds and recognise them in books, they begin to develop fluency (pace of reading, expression and intonation). After this, we begin to work on comprehension (understanding what has been read and responding to it appropriately).
At each stage, it is sometimes helpful, or even necessary, to re-read the same text multiple times. It is also crucial that your child has access to a range of books at the correct phonic level, so that they can feel success and achievement in their reading, as well as developing a love for reading by sharing well-loved stories with their teachers, friends and family.
For these reasons, we have recently changed our home-reading system.
Please see the documents below for details on what books your child will bring home and when they will be changed, as well as as ideas and support for reading with your child.
Spelling
For the Spring term, we have sent your child home with a new spelling book. Each child has been given a personalised list of the next 10 or 15 words they need to learn to get them on their way to knowing the First 100 High Frequency Words by the end of Key Stage 1.
We selected these words based on their score on a spelling check at the end of the Autumn term. We will re-check the children on their HFW spellings in February and will send home the next 10 - 15 words for them to learn after the half term.
Please see below for the letter which was sent home in January along with these spellings, as well as the complete list of the First 100 HFWs and our 'Spelling Menu', which will hopefully give you ideas to make spelling practise at home more fun and effective.