Destination Reader

Why is reading important for children?

There are a huge number of reasons why reading is important. Here are some of the ones we feel are most important:

Reading exercises our brain and improves concentration
Reading improves imagination and empathy – improving relationships with others and improves wellbeing
Improved sense of being connected to the wider community
Young people who enjoy reading very much are three times as likely to read above the level expected for their age as young people who do not enjoy reading at all. (Childrens' and Young People’s Reading in 2015, National Literacy Trust, 2016)
Students who read for pleasure make significantly more progress in vocabulary, spelling and maths than children who read very little (Sullivan and Brown 2013)

What is Destination Reader?

Destination Reader is an approach to reading for years 2-6 that can be applied to all texts and is designed to create a culture of reading for pleasure and purpose. This approach involves using clear reading strategies to support comprehension and learning behaviours to support children in conversation. It was developed by a working party of Hackney teachers, who piloted the approach, to provide a higher quality approach to teaching reading in Key Stage 2.

What does Destination Reader look like?

Once a week the children complete a ‘Big Picture’ independently using a longer, unseen piece of text. This is to allow the adults to assess how they have developed their learning towards a strategy.

Destination Reader bookmarks to support children in lessons:

How can I support my child with reading?

To support your child with their reading you could:

Use the Destination Reader bookmark when reading, this will encourage your child to talk more about their book (examples of how to use this are above in the reading strategies section)
Visit the library together
All reading is good - encourage your child to be exposed to a wide range of text such as posters, leaflets, recipes, information books, story books, magazines, newspapers, audiobooks, games
Model enthusiasm towards reading by sharing any interesting facts/ideas from the book you are reading and sharing their books with them
Read to your child – whatever their age. This is an opportunity for them to be exposed to stories and language at a higher level
Make books part of your family life - read at the same time as your child and make it into a family reading session