11/04/2025Literacy
Lots of research has proved the importance of developing children's reading ages for their success at school. It builds their self-confidence, helps them access their learning and leads to better feelings towards education more generally. Here at St James we take this incredibly seriously. Your child reads for pleasure as part of their English curriculum and all teachers support the development of literacy through our St James Way Expectations and standards set for every teacher, in every classroom in every lesson. For those we read underneath their chronological age, we support through in class intervention and run a reading recovery programme every morning for our readers who need to make the most progress. For our kids who read significantly above their reading age, we stretch them in class and provide explicit guidance about how to write as subject experts.
You can help your child by ensuring they are reading an age appropriate book and to ensure they are reading most nights. Below is some guidance about how to check your child has an age appropriate book but also how you can more generally set up a successful culture of reading at home.
Teach your student to pick a book with the PICK mnemonic.
Help your child become an independent reader by teaching them the mnemonic device “PICK.” Use PICK as a memory aid to help your student find the right books for them.
PICK stands for:
- Purpose: Why do I want to read this book? Is it for school or just for fun?
- Interest: Does it interest me? Will I enjoy reading it?
- Comprehend: Do I understand what I’m reading? Can I summarise what I just read?
- Know: Do I know most of the words? There may be one or two words I don’t know, but no more than 3–5 words I don’t know.
Books that fit all of the PICK principles are more likely to engage and educate a child. This means that the book has purpose; your student has an interest in the story, subject matter, or theme of the book; your student can comprehend what they’re reading; and your student will know most of the words on the page.
Reading Comprehension and Age Appropriateness of Books
To help determine a student’s reading comprehension for a book they are interested in, try this simple three-step exercise:
1. Have your child randomly open a book to any page, and then have them read that page.
2. While they’re reading, keep track of unfamiliar words. Note: proper nouns don’t count as unfamiliar words because the reader doesn’t have to know how to say the word; they just need to be able to identify if it’s a person or a place.
3. After your student has finished reading the page, tally how many words were new or unfamiliar (again, don’t count proper nouns). If the page has three or more unfamiliar words, then the book is likely too difficult for your child to understand. If the page has one or two unfamiliar words, the book is likely appropriate for your child’s reading level.
1. Encourage your child to read
Reading helps your child’s wellbeing, develops imagination and has educational benefits too. Just a few minutes a day can have a big impact on children of all ages.
2. Read aloud regularly
This works especially well for readers still developing their foundational skills or reading below their chronological age. Try to read to your child every day. It’s a special time to snuggle up and enjoy a story. Stories matter and children love re-reading them and poring over the pictures. Try adding funny voices to bring characters to life.
3. Encourage reading choice
Give children lots of opportunities to read different things in their own time - it doesn’t just have to be books. There’s fiction, non-fiction, poetry, comics, magazines, recipes and much more. Try leaving interesting reading material in different places around the home and see who picks it up.
4. Read together
Choose a favourite time to read together as a family and enjoy it. This might be everyone reading the same book together, reading different things at the same time, or getting your children to read to each other. This time spent reading together can be relaxing for all.
5. Create a comfortable environment
Make a calm, comfortable place for your family to relax and read independently - or together.
6. Make use of your local library
Libraries in England are able to open from 4 July, so visit them when you’re able to and explore all sorts of reading ideas. Local libraries also offer brilliant online materials, including audiobooks and ebooks to borrow. See Libraries Connected for more digital library services and resources. You can also ask your child to pop in to our school library where our wonderful librarian will help your child choose a book appropriate to their current reading age which they will love.
7. Talk about books
This is a great way to make connections, develop understanding and make reading even more enjoyable. Start by discussing the front cover and talking about what it reveals and suggests the book could be about. Then talk about what you’ve been reading and share ideas. You could discuss something that happened that surprised you, or something new that you found out. You could talk about how the book makes you feel and whether it reminds you of anything.
8. Bring reading to life
You could try cooking a recipe you’ve read together. Would you recommend it to a friend? Help your child to develop a sharper and more vivid mental image of the text by asking them to describe features of the story beyond what the author has written? What do they look like? What might they sound like? What are they thinking? What are their motivations? This will help them to develop their reading skills and improve their enjoyment of the book.
9. Make reading active
Play games that involve making connections between pictures, objects and words, such as reading about an object and finding similar things in your home. You could organise treasure hunts related to what you’re reading.
10. Engage your child in reading in a way that suits them
You know your child best and you’ll know the best times for your child to read. If they have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) then short, creative activities may be the way to get them most interested. If English is an additional language, encourage reading in a child’s first language, as well as in English. What matters most is that they enjoy it.
