Reading
Reading across the curriculum
The teaching and learning of reading runs across the entire curriculum. We aim to provide a rich reading environment to develop the children and young adults skills in reading. Our teaching strategies aim to enhance children’s motivation and involvement in reading and to develop their skills through the following:
- reading with other children
- reading with an adult
- shared reading
- guided reading
- reading aloud
- independent reading
Read Write Inc (RWInc)
Children and young adults are given opportunities to apply reading skills developed through RWInc Programme, which is a systematic, synthetic phonics approach to reading by blending sounds.Children and young adults learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down. This is essential for reading, but it also helps children and young adults learn to spell well. We teach the children and young adults simple ways of remembering these sounds and letters.The children and young adults also practise reading (and spelling) of tricky words’, such as ‘once,’ ‘have,’ ‘said’ and ‘where’. The children and young adults practise their reading with books that are matched to the phonics and the ‘tricky words’ they know which develops confidence within reading.
Throughout the programme, all texts given are effectively matched to pupils’ reading age and phonic ability. Pupils and young adults are encouraged to use subject specific vocabulary in all subjects. These skills are developed by using red and green word strategies used in RWInc. Teachers also use all areas of the curriculum to model reading skills to pupils through the use of subject specific stories, biographies and non-fiction texts.
Teachers read to the children and young adults daily, so they get to experience a wide range of stories from different cultures and diversity, poetry and information books. This increases the vocabulary that they can read and understand and in turn helps their writing.
Our Reading Journey
Reading for pleasure
Reading aloud is an important part of the school day. Teachers provide opportunities for children and young adults to experience stories and texts that they might not usually access. All staff recognise the importance of reading aloud and it is effectively planned for. It provides pupils and young adults with exciting, enriching and well chosen reading material to develop a love of reading. The teacher facilitates reading communities which ensures they can share in an experience a wide repertoire of books they enjoy. Weekly sessions are timetabled for staff to model high quality reading materials. This links with our commitment to deepen and broaden Children’s vocabulary as well as our English focus of writing based on quality texts.
Our reading areas promote our love of reading and develop reading independence
Expanding students’ experiences
For our students reading is a passport to the real world and the benefits go far beyond word -reading skills and comprehension skills. Reading a wide range of literature helps to open up our students’ ideas, experiences, places and times they might never have experienced in real life. A reading sketch book has been introduced within all phases of school. It clearly provides a celebration of reading sessions.
How do we support parents with reading?
Over the course of the academic year, reading workshops are delivered by our Lead practitioners to share school based strategies with parents and carers to enable a consistent approach at home and school.
How can I help my child read?
Sound it out: If your child gets stuck on a word, try phonics first. Encourage your child to say the letter sounds and say them quickly to hear the word, this is blending.If the word can’t be sounded, model it and move on. IF the book is at the appropriate level this shouldn’t happen frequently.
Clap it out: Clapping the syllables to support the reading of longer words.
Expression and Flow: Don’t worry if your child’s expression is stilted, encourage re-reading with lots of praise. Encourage parent/carer modelling.
Read as often as possible: Read books from school, libraries, newspapers,magazines, signs and notices. Encourage your children or young adults to register with a local library to access a wealth of books and join in many of the great events and challenges they offer.
Read Together: Hearing a story read to you is really important for developing reading skills. It allows children and young adults to engage in more challenging texts too.
Whole School Reading Celebrations Events
- Reading is something that is celebrated throughout the year through events such as World Poetry Day, Roald Dahl Day and World Book day.
- World Book Day helps us promote reading for pleasure within our school by changing lives through a love of books and shared reading.
Roman Mitchiums World Book Day Video
Roman Harrius World Book Day Video
- Reading is also celebrated on a regular basis through the use of the school’s Facebook page where photographs and videos of pupils reading are shared.
