Lightmoor Village Primary School

Here at Lightmoor Village Primary School our prime focus for home learning, for all year groups, is reading. We ask that all children are read to or are heard reading each day. As children move up through school, they become independent readers with exciting ideas for their writing and that is all formed from those earlier years of enjoying books with others. Alongside reading we also encourage spelling and multiplication practice at home to support and reinforce learning.

 

Why Reading?

Being a good reader makes you a good writer. Reading for pleasure and enjoyment not only helps children perform better in at reading in school but also increases vocabulary. Reading is not only about working out what is written on a page, it is about understanding the bigger context, inferring how characters might be feeling and what might happen next.

 

“There can be few things as powerful as regularly reading to a young child. It has astonishing benefits for children: comfort and reassurance, confidence and security, relaxation, happiness and fun. Giving a child time and full attention when reading them a story tells them they matter. It builds self-esteem, vocabulary, feeds imagination and even improves their sleeping patterns.”

National Literacy Trust

 

Reception class pupils come home with sounds books, new sounds will be added as they learn them through the Read Write Inc phonic scheme. When they start to independently blend sounds for reading they will receive their first school reading book.

Please see our ‘Early Reading Skills - A Guide for Parents’ at the bottom of this page.

 

Spelling

At Lightmoor we teach spellings through Ready Steady Spell - a systematic, evidence-based primary spelling scheme for KS1 and KS2. Designed to build confident, accurate spellers from Year 2 to Year 6, it offers full National Curriculum coverage through a cyclical model that reinforces and embeds learning over time.   With engaging resources, memorable Rule Rhymes, and research-informed approaches to spelling strategies, Ready Steady Spell provides a consistent framework for teaching spelling.   As part of the weekly teaching of spellings children bring home a selection of words to practice each Friday ready for their weekly check.

 

Times Tables

Multiplication facts underpin the maths system like counting, number bonds and place value. If children can learn their times tables then they have a solid foundation for future problem-solving.  Children in Years 2-6 have their own accounts for Time Tables Rocks stars and we ask that they spend 5 minutes each day practising this in an interactive and fun way. School host competitions and challenges linked to the app to create fun and provide motivation.

 

Why Times Tables? (Years 2-6)

Times tables matter as multiplication facts form the basic building blocks that children need throughout all areas of Maths. The National Curriculum states that children should learn, and recall:

2s, 5s and 10s in Year 2

3s, 4s and 8s in Year 3

And know all facts to 12×12 (and corresponding division facts) by the end of Year 4.

This is a big ask so we must give as many opportunities to practise this in a fun way as possible!

 

Additional words lists to read and spell recommended for specific year groups:

Reception

Year 1 & 2

Year 3 & 4 

Year 5 & 6

 

Early Reading Skills - A Guide for Parents

Reading is a key skill that lays the foundations for all future learning. Making a good start in reading helps children to progress well as they move through the school.

• Sharing stories together reading new stories and old favourites!
• Talk about books together: Can you see a …? What might happen next? What’s happening in the picture? What would happen if …?
• Point to the words as you read them (associating spoken word with written word).
• Look for familiar words (family names and high frequency words).
• Listening to story tapes.
• Visit the Library choosing a range of stories and non-fiction books.
• Look at picture books and make up your own stories.
• Read shopping lists (let them have their own with picture clues!) comics, labels and signs.
• Learn and sing Nursery Rhymes – for rhythm and pattern.
• Make up silly sentences (Sammy snakes slithers and slides).
• Games involving initial sounds. Play I spy. Look for sounds in street names or the supermarket. Start with letters in their name.
• Use magnetic letters (lower case) on the fridge to help children learn their sounds.