Homework

Reading

It is important that children read every day.  Your child will usually receive a new reading book every Monday, unless they are a free reader, when they can change their book as they finish it.  Reading with your child daily at home will ensure that they will be exposed to a wide range of words. This will help them build their own vocabulary and improve their understanding when they listen, which is vital. In addition to their reading book, the children will also visit the school library every week and will bring home a book of their choice. 

Please write in your child’s reading diary so that we can acknowledge when they have read at home. Children will receive a house point for every time that they read at home. This can be their school reading book, a reading book from home, a magazine, phonics sound practice or any other kind of reading! 

Spellings 

Spelling is an integral part of our daily phonics & English lessons.  The children are taught to use ‘Fred talk’ for spelling daily.  In English lessons, they will also be taught other spelling strategies, such as syllables, words within a word and red rhythms.  When children are introduced to a new word they follow these steps:

• Listen to the teacher say the word and they repeat it.
• They then segment each sound in the word using ‘Fred Talk’, e.g. ch-a-p, and hold up the right amount of fingers for each sound.
• They then repeat the word using ‘Fred talk’, touching a finger for each sound before they write the word.
• Finally, the teacher spells the word correctly on the board and the children have the opportunity to ‘tick or fix’ their own spelling.  This is repeated for a number of words every day.

Children who have progressed beyond the Read Write Inc. phonics program will have spelling homework every Friday.  This can be accessed via the Ed Shed website.  Please see your child's reading record for login details.

Common Exception Words (Red Words)

A list of common exception words can be found in your child’s reading record and they are available below.  The children’s ability to read these words will be assessed throughout the year. 

To support your child at home, help them to learn to read these common exception words correctly by sight through daily practice.  Help your child notice these words when reading.  Many creative ways to teach common exception words are featured in this useful video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui5hKoEJy-I .

Year 1 & 2 Common Exception Words