FOR FAMILIES · AGES 5–11 · PRINTS ON ONE A4 PAGE
Reading at home: a one-page guide for families
For most children aged 5–11, a bedtime story of 10–20 minutes is plenty. Here is a ten-minute routine, what book bands mean, questions to ask after a story and free things to try, on one page you can print.
Facts last checked · Free to print and share
A 10-minute bedtime reading routine
For most children aged 5–11, a bedtime story of 10–20 minutes is plenty. This routine sits at the short end, for busy nights: ten minutes, in four steps.
- Choose together (1 minute). Offer two books you are happy to read and let your child pick one. They feel in charge of bedtime, and the story stays short enough for tonight.
- Their turn (about 4 minutes). If your child brings home a school reading book, they read it first, while they are freshest. If they get stuck on a word, pause, then say it for them so the story keeps moving.
- Your turn (about 4 minutes). Read a story aloud to them, even once they can read alone. Children can enjoy stories well beyond what they can read themselves, so hearing you read keeps the plots, jokes and words rich.
- Stop at a good place (1 minute). Finish at the end of a chapter, or as soon as they are yawning or losing the thread, while they still want more. Ask one easy question, and let them choose the bookmark for tomorrow.
| Who is reading | Pace | In 10 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| You, reading aloud* | about 120 words a minute | about 1,200 words |
| Your child, age 5 (Reception or Year 1) | 30 words a minute | about 300 words |
| Your child, age 6 (Year 1 or Year 2) | 60 words a minute | about 600 words |
| Your child, age 7 (Year 2 or Year 3) | 85 words a minute | about 850 words |
| Your child, age 8 (Year 3 or Year 4) | 100 words a minute | about 1,000 words |
| Your child, age 9 (Year 4 or Year 5) | 120 words a minute | about 1,200 words |
| Your child, age 10 (Year 5 or Year 6) | 130 words a minute | about 1,300 words |
| Your child, age 11 (Year 6 or Year 7) | 140 words a minute | about 1,400 words |
*A calm read-aloud with pauses for pictures: Litsee’s rule of thumb, not a published figure. Children’s paces are Litsee’s own reading levels, informed by published US reading-fluency norms (Hasbrouck and Tindal, 2017). They are guides, not targets: children of the same age read at very different speeds. To find your own child’s pace, or time a particular book, use the reading time calculator.
Book bands in brief
Many school reading books carry a coloured band. In order, easiest first, as Oxford Owl lists them:
- Lilac
- Pink
- Red
- Yellow
- Blue
- Green
- Orange
- Turquoise
- Purple
- Gold
- White
- Lime
- Brown
- Grey
- Dark Blue
- Dark Red
- A band describes the book, not your child. It is a colour that shows how hard a book is within a reading scheme. (Oxford Owl)
- Schools differ. Schemes link the colours to different school years, and each school chooses its own books, so there is no point comparing colours at the school gate.
- Staying on a colour for weeks is normal. Children read a number of books at one level before the teacher decides they are ready to move on. (Oxford Owl)
- A band is not a reading age. Only a standardised test can give a reading age.
- Read beyond the band. The Department for Education’s reading framework warns that “limiting pupils to choosing unfamiliar books from a narrow level or colour band might not inspire them to read widely and often” (DfE). Library books, comics, joke books and stories you read aloud all count.
The full chart, with the school years each publisher links the colours to: book bands and reading ages explained.
Questions to ask after a story
Keep it a chat, not a test. The Department for Education’s advice to parents is: “Avoid asking questions to test what your child remembers.” and “Chat about the story and pictures: ‘I wonder why she did that?’” (DfE reading framework). Pick one or two of these, never all of them:
- Which part did you like best? Why?
- Was there a bit that made you laugh, or a bit that worried you?
- Who in the story would you like to be friends with?
- Why do you think they did that?
- What would you have done instead?
- Did any words stand out? What do you think they mean?
- What do you think happens after the last page?
- If you were the author, what would you change?
More questions for each year group: questions to ask about a book.
Free stories and tools to try
All free, with no account or sign-up. For the evenings your child wants to tell a story of their own:
- Free interactive stories: Read a chapter together, then your child chooses what happens next. litsee.com/stories
- Story starters: A first line to start a story of their own, by year group and theme. litsee.com/tools/story-starters
- Story dice: Roll picture dice and tell a story that uses every one. litsee.com/tools/story-dice
- Story plan template: A story mountain to fill in and print, for when they want to write it down. litsee.com/tools/story-plan-template
- Reading log: A log to fill in and print on A4, plus book review templates. litsee.com/tools/reading-log
- Reading record comments: A short, specific comment for the reading record in three taps. litsee.com/tools/reading-log/reading-record-comments
- Reading time calculator: How long tonight’s story will take, by age, read aloud or read alone. litsee.com/tools/reading-time-calculator
- All the free tools: Free to use and print, with no account or email needed. litsee.com/tools
For schools: sharing this page
You are welcome to link to this page from a newsletter, a class page or your school website’s reading at home page, or to print it for book bags. It fits on one sheet of A4. There is no account, no sign-up and nothing to fill in.
The address to paste: https://litsee.com/parents/reading-at-home
Every number on it comes from our reading time calculator and every book band fact from our book bands guide, which cite their sources. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Email info@litsee.com and we will fix it.
Questions families and schools ask
How long should we read at bedtime?
For most children aged 5–11, a bedtime story of 10–20 minutes is plenty. Ten minutes read aloud by a grown-up is about 1,200 words, at about 120 words a minute (Litsee’s rule of thumb, not a published figure). Watch your child rather than the clock, and stop at a good place if they are tired.
What do the coloured book bands mean?
A book band is a colour that shows how hard a book is within a reading scheme. It describes the book, not your child, and it is not a reading age. Schemes link the colours to different school years; our book bands guide has the full chart.
What should I ask my child after a story?
One or two open questions, such as which part they liked best or what they think happens after the last page. Keep it a chat, not a test: the Department for Education’s reading framework tells parents to avoid asking questions to test what a child remembers.
Can our school link to or print this page?
Yes. Link to https://litsee.com/parents/reading-at-home from a newsletter or your school website, or print it: it fits on one sheet of A4. There is no account, no sign-up and nothing to fill in.
Sources
- Hasbrouck, J. & Tindal, G. (2017). An update to compiled ORF norms (Technical Report No. 1702). Behavioral Research and Teaching, University of Oregon University of Oregon (via ERIC), 2017
- Reading schemes, Levels, and Stages Oxford Owl for Home (Oxford University Press), undated
- The reading framework (section 7: Choosing and organising books) Department for Education, July 2023, updated September 2023
- The reading framework (Appendix 1: For parents: reading stories to children) Department for Education, July 2023, updated 22 September 2023
Litsee is not connected with, or endorsed by, Oxford University Press or any reading scheme named here.
About Litsee: we make an interactive storybook app for ages 5 to 11, in which your child creates the hero and decides what happens next. How it works.