Reading

Year 5 now have a recommended reading list so the children can share any books they’ve loved recently. 

Our new class librarians busy at work making sure our class library is always in a good state. 

Warrior Boy

Over the last few weeks Year Five have enjoyed reading the excellent Virginia Clay book Warrior Boy. Here are some Year Five children interviewing each other about the book and predicting how they think it’ll conclude. 

Hidden figures

Year 5 enjoyed this fantastic short story about the space race. We all found it inspirational and instilled many of the key values needed for life. 

Our wonderful class library is now set up and running. Many books relate to our fantastic topics in Spring and also some of the authors we’ve enjoyed looking at in Autumn (Year 5 have soft spots for Michael Morpurgo and Maz Evans in particular!)

Sadly our class reader Who Let the Gods Out has come to an end. What an enjoyable book it has been, full of genuinely funny and heartfelt moments. We’ve all been gripped by the endless drama. As you can see from the picture, all the children loved the book and many gave it 10/10. I anticipate the Maz Evans’ books maybe a late addition to many Christmas lists. 

Who let the gods out

Listen to some of Y5’s opinions about the story and our predictions for the end! Safe to say we’ve really enjoyed this story!

We have enjoyed reading Long Walk to Freedom in our story time and linking closely to our history topic for Black History Month on Nelson Mandela. 
 

🚨 NEW CLASS READER 🚨 

Year 5 have really enjoyed beginning to read Who Let the Gods out in story time this week! It’s be a fascinating start…

We’ve finally came to an end of Kensuke’s Kingdom. What a fantastic book with lots of ups and downs. Year 5 have thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, including immersing ourselves with a writing exercise linked to  Kensuke’s Kingdom. We’ve definitely enjoyed focusing on Michael Morpurgo and look forward to encountering his books throughout the year. 
 

We look forward to our next book now. 

Story time

Year 5 enjoyed our first “story time” at the end of the day continuing to read Kensuke’s Kingdom!

Kensuke’s kingdom

The children are loving reading Kensuke’s Kingdom. Just 2 chapters to go now!

Reading plays a major role in your child' development and progress across all subjects. 

Evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests than those who don’t, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures. In fact, there’s evidence to suggest that reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does well at school than their social or economic background.

Reading improves the pupils' concentration, their understanding of the world and develops their creativity while allowing them to deepen empathy. Ideally, in order to get the most benefit from reading, your child should read at least 5 times per week, even just a couple of pages. 

In Cronton CE, we use a system called Accelerated Reader, which allows us to test the children's comprehension skills and place them at the correct reading level. This way, they will be reading books that are neither too easy nor too difficult, but still challenge them enough to make progress. (When the books are too easy, the children stagnate and don't learn any new skills; books that are too difficult might prove to discourage your child from reading as they don't have the necessary vocabulary/skills to access the text.). 

When the children quiz and score 100% 3 times, they move up a reading level as they have proved they are ready to progress. Sometimes, after a discussion with your child, they might be given a book at a lower level, which will allow them to consolidate some of the skills they might be struggling with and therefore build a solid base for further new skills and vocabulary.

The children get re-assessed half-termly to make sure they are picking books at the right level. 

An important part of your child's reading is journaling in their Reading Journal. I explain to the children how to do so, but for your information, I have included the guide below too. The children are only allowed to quiz once they have 'Reviewed' the finished book.