READING
The English reading curriculum has been designed to ensure all learners, particularly the most disadvantaged, become confident readers, reading easily, fluently and with good understanding and to the best of their ability. Our aim is to provide children with as many opportunities to feed their imagination and open a treasure chest of wonder, excitement and joy. We encourage children to read widely and often to increase their knowledge and understanding of themselves and the world they live in.
Early Reading
The teaching of reading begins early when children are exposed to a range of stories and poems in Nursery. This continues into reception where individual and small group reading takes place. This is in line with our phonics scheme, Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. For our reading practice sessions, we use the Big Cat Collins, Little Wandle texts. The children read with a trained adult three times a week for 20 minutes in a small group.
The sessions:
Each reading practice session has a clear focus, so that the demands of the session do not overload the children’s working memory. The reading practice sessions have been designed to focus on three key reading skills:
Key stage 2 - Whole Class Reading
The Whole Class Reading approach follows a five-day sequence. Each year group has a number of age-appropriate high-quality texts which have been chosen for their content (themes and issues) and are rich in vocabulary. The children are taught to respond to different question types such as retrieval and inference questions and higher-level questioning using the PEE strategy to respond. The children explore vocabulary within the texts ensuring they are building on decoding and deciphering skills and regularly carry out drama activities such as conscience alley, hot seating and emotion graphs to fully understand characters and in turn, authorial intent. The children also have weekly opportunities to complete comprehension style questions based on cross-curricular themes.
Reading at home
It is vitally important for your child's development that you try to find the time at home to read with them. Reading for just 20 minutes per night will greatly improve your child's academic ability.
Home reading EYFS and Key Stage 1
Sharing a book daily with an adult at home is encouraged. For children in Reception and Year 1 and some in Year 2, these books will be matched to their phonics understanding. The child will bring home the same book that they have been reading throughout the week in school. This will allow the children to practise reading with the sounds they have been learning in class or in their intervention sessions and develop their fluency. Children will also bring home a reading for pleasure book. This is a story book for your child to enjoy with you and an opportunity to hear a range of vocabulary within a text. Your child will also bring home a reading for pleasure book. This is a story book for your child to enjoy with you and an opportunity to hear a range of vocabulary within a text. It is important to log your child's reads into their yellow reading record.
For parents | Letters and Sounds (littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk)
Home reading Key Stage 2
Sharing a book daily with an adult at home is encouraged. The children in Key stage 2 will take a book home from their class reading corner. This is a book of their choice which has captured their interest. Where appropriate, children will also bring home a book linked to their ability to develop their fluency.
Reading Schemes
In EYFS and KS1, Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revisited, is used to teach phonics. is
Reading Planet, Oxford Reading Tree's Songbirds and Pearson's Bug Club are available to supplement the scheme if needed.
| Name | Format | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Files | |||
| KS1 amd EYFS Scavenger Book Hunt.pdf | |||
| KS2 Scavenger Book Hunt.pdf |
Our reading ambassadors are helping us to promote reading for pleasure. They have organised a Book Scavenger Hunt for children to carry out at home with their families.
Useful websites to support parents with reading at home
https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/ - summer reading challenge from the Reading Agency
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/have-some-fun/storybooks-and-games/ - free interactive books online
https://www.worldbookday.com/world-of-stories/ - free interactive books online
https://www.shedofbooks.com/ book recommendations
https://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/ book recommendations
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/ free e books and much more for teachers and children
http://www.shakespeareandmore.com/ book lists, planning and spelling programme
https://www.spellingshed.com/en-gb free 30 day free trial
https://www.pobble365.com/ a daily image and teaching resources
https://www.onceuponapicture.co.uk/ images to inspire writing
https://www.storytimemagazine.com/subscription/halfprice/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0qz46djn6AIV2YBQBh009wJmEAAYASAAEgK5mvD_BwE half price subscription and free downloads
https://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/ first 4 issues for £1
https://storybird.com/ free trial
getepic.com - they do a free trial
https://www.tckpublishing.com/free-ebooks-for-kids/ - links to free e-book sites for children