Reading
Reading is crucial to the development of our pupils.
Please click here for a document about what you can do as parents to support your child.
Please click here for more parental tips when reading with your child.
Please click here to view our World Book Day page.
Intent
It is our intention to ensure that, by the end of their primary education, all children can read fluently, and with confidence, in any subject. We intend for children to learn new vocabulary and feel confident and resilient when faced with new or challenging vocabulary. We encourage all children to read widely to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, gaining a wider cultural capital. We want children to establish an appreciation and love of reading and be an active participant when reading. We want reading to help children gain knowledge and develop their comprehension skills across the curriculum. With regards to Early Reading, the systematic teaching of phonics has a high priority throughout Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1.
Implementation
We use an Active Read approach to whole class reading. Encompassing the principles of; Prior knowledge, vocabulary, reading fluency, reading for meaning and reading comprehension.
In Active Read sessions, all staff use high-quality texts that have been specifically selected per year groups and then separated into four categories; Narratives, Non-linear time narratives, Archaic text and Poetry as well as a teacher chosen Non-Fiction text.
The children take reading books home regularly: EYFS and Year 1 take home three books; one colour band book that they choose because they have looked at the front cover and read the blurb and think they will enjoy it; 1 linked to the phonics phase they are on and one based on the specific sound they are learning that week.
In KS1, children are assessed using the recognition of phonics phonemes and grouped into phonics phase ability groups. Phonics is taught every day and children are given spellings to learn each week based on the phonemes they have learnt that week. Phonics posters and mats are accessible for children in the classrooms at all times to give opportunity to implement their phonics knowledge into their writing. Phonics workshops are hosted by the teacher for parents in order for them to support children’s phonics learning when reading at home and helping with spellings.
We acknowledge that children need to be taught the key skills in segmenting and blending to be equipped with the knowledge to be able to complete the phonics check at the end of year 1. We also value and encourage the pupils to read for enjoyment and recognise that this starts with the foundations of acquiring letter sounds, segmenting and blending skills.
We display vocabulary in our learning environment.
Teachers and children read aloud to their class regularly.
Children in Year 2 to 6 use the Accelerated Reader programme to select an appropriate reading book. They then use this programme to; rate the book, quiz their understanding and keep track of their targets and word count.
All classes may be given a ‘Lucky Listener’ sheet every so often. The children are given a piece of text to read aloud at home; whether it is to mum, dad, siblings, grandparents, teddies or even a pet! Whoever is heard the most becomes our ‘Lucky Listener’. Classes have their own targets and competitions running. This valuable experience will help the children to read more fluently, perform to an audience and give them a greater understanding of the text they are sharing so that they will be able to apply all of these skills to a variety of literature.
Phonics resources are matched to the specific phase and sound that the children are working on. All resources have been made to look the same so that every phonics space is familiar to them.
All classes from Year 2 upwards have SQUIRT (Sustained, Quiet, Undisturbed, Independent, Reading, Time) each day. This, alongside Lucky Listeners enable the children to develop their love for reading whilst working on fluency, stamina and reading for meaning.
In EYFS, Reading Café is run weekly. Alongside this, Reading Bags or Communication and Language Bags are sent home to encourage parental engagement and promote a love of reading.
To encourage and promote enjoyment in reading events take place often throughout the year. These include: World Book Day, library visits, visitors to assemblies, author/poet visits and Book Fairs.
Non-Negotiables for Active Reading:
- Vocabulary (specifically vocabulary found in reading books) displayed around the classroom.
- In a week, new vocabulary is taught; reading to fluency using choral and echo reading is practiced and questioning is focused to specific year group objectives and gaps, whether that be orally or written.
Impact
- Staff monitor children’s word count, zone of proximal development (ZPD) decimal as well as their understanding and comprehension of a text on the Accelerated Reader programme.
- Children’s enjoy reading regularly, for information and for enjoyment/pleasure.
- We listen to children read 1:1 regularly and children discuss books with excitement and interest.
- Children are being adventurous with vocabulary choices and using vocabulary from their reading books in other subjects.
- PIXL tests are used throughout the school and an in-depth analysis of the results is provided and used to inform planning and any intervention needed.
- Pupil progress meetings with SLT and teachers each term ensure different groups and individual progress is monitored and interventions organised to support progress.
- The reading subject leader conducts learning walks, lesson observations and pupil questionnaires throughout the year. These inform future areas for improvement and the impact of new initiatives.
- High levels of parental engagement in EYFS with the Reading Café and Reading and Communication and Language bags.
- Standards are being met at the end of EYFS and in the Phonics screening check. Each year data is analysed and any areas for improvement identified and addressed. Year 2 children still follow the phonics programme and revisit phases if they did not pass the Phonic Screening Check. Interventions are planned for Year 3 if the Phonic Screening check has still not been passed by the end of Year 2. In Year 4 upwards, the phoneme chart is used in spelling lessons at least three times per week.
Catalogue of Online Books, ReadaLouds etc.
Below is a spreadsheet that has catalogued different FREE online books, ReadaLouds etc. The links that you need, title and authors as well as the year group it is intended for (there are books for Reception to Year 6) is all there in the spreadsheet.
Many of the books in this document are on Accelerated Reader and children should be encouraged, even if they have ad the book read to them, to go onto Accelerated Reader and do the quiz after.
Please note the 9 different tabs along the bottom of the spreadsheet.
| Name | |
|---|---|
| Primary Book list (Online, ReadaLouds etc).xlsx | Download |
Useful Links
Book Trust
Sign up with an email and password to access many different reading materials at home
Amazon Audio Books
Listen to as many audio books as you like using this link to free Amazon Audio Books
https://stories.audible.com/start-listen?ref=adbl_ent_anon_pdp_hm_hb
Oxford Owl
Sign up for a free parent account to access free e-books from Oxford Owl
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-school/oxford-owl-ebook-collection?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=&age_group=age+7-9&series=&level=&book_type=&view_style=image#
103 things to do during or after Reading
https://www.readingrockets.org/article/103-things-do-during-or-after-reading
JSTOR, a digital library that normally requires a subscription, has announced that 6,000 of its ebooks and more than 150 journals will be freely available to the public.
Project Muse
Through this online database, a large number of publishers are also making their scholarly content temporarily available. They include the Music Library Association, which has articles on music history; the National Bureau of Asian Research; and the University of California Press.
Kanopy
Kanopy lets you stream more than 30,000 documentaries, classic and indie films — including popular movies of recent years like “Moonlight” and “Lady Bird.” This content is available to those with a public library card or a university login.
Phonics Play
https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/
Oxford Owl Phonics
Lucky Listeners
All classes may be given a ‘Lucky Listener’ sheet every so often. The children are given a piece of text to read aloud at home; whether it is to mum, dad, siblings, grandparents, teddies or even a pet! Whoever is heard the most becomes our ‘Lucky Listener’. Classes have their own targets and competitions running. This valuable experience will help the children to read more fluently, perform to an audience and give them a greater understanding of the text they are sharing so that they will be able to apply all of these skills to a variety of literature.
