It is really important that children read often. We advise at least 5 times a week and depending on each child can just be a couple of pages at a time. The children should say a sound for each letter or digraph (a sound which is represented by 2 letters for eg. ai) and then blend them together to read the word. The children have learned some 'tricky words' which are words that cannot be sounded out and need to be recognised by sight.

It is also helpful if the child re-reads a book to become familiar with the story as it is not just about reading each word, but understanding what is happening and relating that to the pictures. This is why we advise reading the same book several times which helps with word recognition and being more fluent in blending sounds to read.