About the Home Reading Programme

Example of the Home Reading Record sheet

Class: ________________ Name: ______________

Record Book Title

Borrowed Returned

1 Candy Goes to School 9

2 Alligator in the River 9 9

3 Cat and Hat 9 9

4 Brown Bear 9

5 6 7

The schools will be provided with enough copies of the Home Reading Booklet for each student for each year. The schools will also be provided with a template for the Home Reading Booklet. Students and parents will be asked to complete pages, such as the one below. Students will also use their My First Dictionary to write down words that they can read and write. When a student completes a booklet, it should be placed into that student’s portfolio. The booklet may be included with the Student Portfolio contents when reporting to parents.

A page from the Home Reading Booklet

No Date *Title Do you like it? How many

times I have read the book?

(1, 2, 3 …)

Parent’s Signature 家長簽署

# Parent’s Remarks 家長備註 (9) in the appropriate

bracket 在適當的括號內加

上(9)

1 ( ) A

( ) B ( ) C ( ) D

2 ( ) A

( ) B ( ) C ( ) D

3 ( ) A

( ) B ( ) C ( ) D

4 ( ) A

( ) B ( ) C ( ) D

* Books with Tapes # A. I read to my child. B. My child read to me. C. My child read with me. D. My child read alone.

我唸書給孩子聽 孩子唸書給我聽 與孩子一同閱讀 孩子自行閱讀

A home reading bag should be provided by the schools or the parents for each student and it will contain:

• the borrowed book

• Home Reading Booklet

• My First Dictionary

• Tape or CD with a recording of the text of the borrowed book (if necessary).

8.4 Roles and Responsibilities

The teachers will:

• set up the returning and borrowing procedure (see 8.4 Procedures for Borrowing Books) for all the students involved in the PLP-R (KS1). This procedure must suit the school’s particular situation including time and staff available

• organise a system for storing the levelled books and unleveled booklets

• organise for the classroom assistant (CA) or a student monitor to assist students with the returning of books at other times or during the Literary Sessions. Other times could be before or after school or during lunch and recess times

• organise for the teacher team to assist students with the borrowing of books

• make copies of the Home Reading Record sheets, enough for individual students, and place them in a class folder

• give the Parent Guidelines to the parents before and/or with the first borrowed book/booklet about the HRP (see Appendix 8.2)

• send home a questionnaire (see Appendix 8.3) for collecting information about the student’s home reading environment. This questionnaire will help teachers decide on the support that some students may need to ensure the success of the HRP

• make sure each student has a home reading bag

• provide opportunities for students to develop a home reading routine during the Setting Up Stage by organising for students to borrow either unlevelled booklets (see the Units of Work) or books that are available in the class or school library for students who can read a certain amount of English

• organise for the Native English-speaking Teacher (NET), if necessary, to make recordings of the vocabulary in the unlevelled booklets that can be sent home with the booklets as tapes or CDs

• use the Reading Skills Profile and other forms of assessment, including the sampling process (see Section 7: About the Starter Kit of Books), to help the teachers decide on the reading levels of the students. Once these are known, the teaching team can guide students to choose books to take home at their Independent level, i.e. they can read almost every word – 96% accuracy

• decide when it is appropriate for their students to begin taking home books from the Starter Kit of Books. Teachers should continue to send home an unlevelled booklet until a student can read independently a book at Level 1

• make sure the quantity of homework has been adjusted to allow time for students to read at home

• provide opportunities for students to conference periodically about their book choices – suggested questions are detailed in 8.3.4 below.

8.4.2 Classroom Assistant (CA) The CA will:

• organise the collection from a designated place of the returned home reading books and replace them where they are normally stored before the Literacy Session

• instruct and supervise student monitors to help with the borrowing and returning procedure (if monitors are being used)

• check each student’s Home Reading Booklet to make sure the student and the parents have made entries

• conference with the students periodically about the books they have taken home and read

• record the name of the borrowed book in each Home Reading Record sheet which will be kept in the class folder

• periodically file each Home Reading Record sheet into each Student’s Portfolio.

8.4.3 Students Each student will:

• take home book at least once a week to read independently

• read the book to himself/herself and also aloud to someone at home

• spend at least 10-15 minutes a day reading, either the home reading book or other books in English

• read the book aloud to someone else, e.g. a friend, sibling, parent, pet or favourite toy

• talk about the book to someone at home

• look after the borrowed book

• pack the home reading bag, making sure it contains the borrowed book, the Home Reading booklet and the tape or CD (if included)

• return and borrow a book once a week

• return the book to the assigned place before the Literacy Session

• select a book with guidance from the teacher or CA at the organised time.

8.4.4 Parents/Guardians Parents/Guardians will:

• spend time reading to/with their children everyday

• show their child how to take good care of the borrowed books and remind him/her to do so

• make sure their child returns the borrowed book before each Literacy Session

• complete and sign the entries into the child’s Home Reading Booklet

• help their child write words the child can read in My First Dictionary

• help their child pack the home reading bag on the day the home reading book needs to be returned

• support the development of their child’s English reading skills and strategies

• share with their child his/her reading successes

• encourage their child to read independently and silently

• provide a quiet, comfortable space for reading

• provide other sources of English reading material.

See Section 9: Parent Support for more details about the roles and responsibilities of parents.

8.4.5 Home Reading Conferencing

The following are a list of suggested questions that the teachers or the CA may use for a discussion of books read at home. Teachers will need to target the learning of the meaning and use of these questions and will choose those that are appropriate for the English ability levels of their students.

• Was it a story or a book about information?

• Was it easy to read?

• Did you like the story? Why?

• Did you have any difficulties? What were they?

• Will you read it again? Why?

• What was your favourite page? Why?

• What was the book about?

• Who would like to read this book?

• Did you share this book? Who with?

• What did you do when you came to a word you didn’t know?

8.5 Procedure for Borrowing Books

8.6 When to Start?

The Home Reading Programme needs to be established and this may take some time. Students need to be able to read a few words and parents need to be informed.

It is probably better for P1 students to begin a Home Reading Programme in the second term, after they have been matched to book levels.

After a week, the students return their books to a designated place for their class before the Literacy Session.

Teacher/CA/monitor makes sure books have been returned, checks the entries in the Home Reading Booklet and then replaces them where they are usually stored in the Reading Room before the Literacy Session.

Each student selects a book during the Literacy Session with guidance from the teacher/CA/monitor. Student’s name and book name are recorded in the Home Reading Booklet.