As you may be aware, our school uses a reading scheme called ‘Bug Club’.  The aim of this scheme is to supplement the current reading books that we have in school and support the development of the children’s reading and comprehension skills to help nurture lifelong readers. Below, you will find key information about the scheme and how you can get involved. We hope that you and your child will love these books and enjoy reading them at home. If you have any questions regarding this reading scheme, then please do not hesitate to talk to your child’s class teacher.

Bug Club Log in Page

What is Bug Club?

Bug Club is a finely-levelled reading scheme, which ensures that all children can find books at exactly the right level for them. Bug Club books have a fantastic range of titles, which are graded into the same colour-coded book band levels that we use in school. Within each level, there is a carefully planned progression of books. This fine progression gives children plenty of opportunities to develop their reading skills and master each fine step while moving through the reading scheme.

What is the best way to use Bug Club?

Inside every printed book/eBook there are notes to help you make the most of reading with your child.

Inside front cover: For younger children, these notes identify difficult words with which children may need help and give ideas and strategies to help you feel confident that you know how best to help. For older children, the notes are intended to deepen each child’s understanding of the book. They provide background information about the time or place the book was written or sometimes information about the author or illustrator.

Inside back cover: These notes suggest puzzles and challenges that help children think about their reading. These include ‘Find it!’ activities that encourage children to revisit the text; ‘Share it!’ tasks that may involve making or writing something; and other tasks that offer ideas for further reading.

What books will my child receive?

Every week, in Key Stage 1, your child will receive four reading books. These will be a combination of print books and electronic books (eBooks).

eBooks

As part of the Phonics Bug scheme, your child will be set one eBook which consolidates the learning that has taken place in their phonics lessons. This book will contain sounds and tricky words that the children have learnt the previous week and will provide an opportunity for your child to practise and apply their learning. Your child will also receive an eBook which matches their coloured book band. These texts are phonetically decodable and will contain a variety of sounds to further consolidate children’s phonics learning and reading skills. Your child will receive an individual login to access their eBooks on Phonics Bug. Log-in details will be provided shortly and will be put in your child’s reading record. We would encourage you to write in your child’s reading record and make note of the books they have read and any comments about their reading. 

Print books

Your child will be able to choose two books from their classroom book trolley. One of these will match the child’s current coloured book band and the other will be a book of their choice. This book can be used in a variety of ways, including discussing the characters and events in the story and clarifying new vocabulary. Parents may also choose to read this book to their child, to model use of expression and reading for pleasure.

Returning books

Please can we kindly ask that all print books are returned to school every Monday so that your child can receive a new book. Please note that your child will not be able to receive a new book if their old book has not been returned. The new eBook will be allocated at the end of each week.

How can I get involved?

Parents play a crucial role in supporting their child to become confident, fluent readers who enjoy reading. Until they are fluent readers, younger children will benefit from reading aloud to you as often as possible. We advise listening to your child read on a daily basis for 10-15 minutes.

When sharing a book with your child, try to take opportunities to talk about the book – before, during and after reading.

Before reading: Look at the book cover and talk about your child’s expectations. Is the book likely to be fiction or non-fiction? Have you read other books together about these characters or by this author? What does your child think the book is going to be about?

While reading: Support your child when unknown words need tackling: you can use the pictures for support, sound them out, split them into syllables, or identify suffixes and prefixes. Remind your child to listen to the words while reading them, to make sure that they make sense. Have a ‘meaning check’ every now and again to ensure that your child understands the text.

After reading: Talk about the book. What was it about? Did it match your child’s expectations? Ask questions beginning with the words ‘how’ and ‘why’ to check that your child has been able to read between the lines.

What can I do to help reading comprehension?

Understanding the book is vital and as part of learning to read, it is important that your child develops their comprehension skills. As you read together, talk about what is happening in the book, what might happen next, and anything that has puzzled them. Encourage your child to re-tell the main parts of the story, using the pictures as a prompt if they need it. When your child finishes a book, ask them whether they liked it or not and encourage them to explain why. After discussing the book, it would be a good time to do the activities linked to the Bug Club book.

If you have any questions, then please get in touch.