Reading
Curriculum Intent: skills
We aim for all pupils to:
- Have the opportunity to be fluent, confident readers who can successfully comprehend and understand a wide range of texts by exposing them to variety of literature, genres and authors. We do not put ceilings on what pupils can achieve in reading and we do not hold pre-conceptions about any pupils’ ability to make progress.
- Develop a love of reading, a good knowledge of a range of authors, and be able to understand more about the world in which they live through the knowledge they gain from texts.
- We understand the importance of parents and carers in supporting their children to develop both word reading and comprehension skills, and so we want to encourage a home-school partnership which enables parents and carers to understand how to enhance the skills being taught in school through good quality texts
- Acquire strategies to enable them to become independent learners in English (looking for spelling patterns and how to tackle unfamiliar words when reading).
Implementation
Curriculum
- We encourage children in Little Daffodils to use books as a tool for developing their phonological awareness.
- Children are read to daily by an adult and are encouraged to share their love of books with their peers
- Children in Key Stage 1 and 2 will take part in Guided Reading sessions three times a week (one year group to be taught by the teacher and the other by the TA) using Schofield and Sims: Cracking Comprehension. This breaks down the complex process of reading comprehension. Each teaching unit targets one fiction or non-fiction text, which is introduced through a modelling session. Within this session, vocabulary is introduced and explained as well as any background information relating to the text. Then the children then practise using test-style questions. Children engage with these skills through captivating, high quality texts that are appropriate to their age.
- Children will be read to by their Class Teacher every day, these books will be challenging and from a wide range of genres and authors.
- We are very lucky to have a wide range of reading books in our school classrooms including fiction, non-fiction and poetry. All children from Reception to Year 6 choose a reading book(s) to take home and this reading book can be changed weekly. Younger children will take home two books, one that is fully decodable and the other that is more challenging and can be shared and enjoyed with parents
- Children in Key Stage 1 will begin by reading decodable books that link directly with our Sounds Write phonic scheme. By Year 2 or when children are fluently decoding, children will move onto Accelerated Reader (see below)
- In KS2 we use Star Reading Tests and Accelerated Reader to ensure children have the correct level of book for home/school reading. Accelerated Reader builds on previous learning through small steps increases in difficulty through ZPD / comprehension. Accelerated Reader checks for understanding through quizzes and then recommends new books for the child to read. Thus, ensuring children are reading books that are at the correct level for them. Children are also encouraged to choose a book from any ZPD that can be their ‘book for pleasure’. Children who have read the most words in every year group (per full term) are rewarded with a free book.
- All children are given the opportunity to, every term, visit our local library in Newent. Here they will have a chance to be exposed to a wide range of books as well as talk to and be read to by the members of staff there. Children will also be given the opportunity to borrow books from the library to read at school.
- Each classroom will have a ‘Love of Reading Display’ that is designed to be constantly updated. This may include recommended books and authors, as well as quotes.
- All pupils will take part in a half-term Reading Heroes Challenge. The expectation is that all pupils will read at home, either to themselves or aloud at least three times a week, if they read this many times, they will gain a star in their reading record books. When they have filled their bookmark with stars, they move up a level (bronze, silver, gold and legend). Their achievements are celebrated in class and in sharing assemblies. We expect families at home to read with their child and make comments in their child’s reading record. Children who achieve this every half term are rewarded.
- Every year, we will organise for the whole school to go to the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Here they will be able to meet real life authors, hear from them how they developed a love of books and reading and how the children themselves could write books too in the future.
- At the start of the academic year, a meeting will be held in every class with parents to discuss reading as well as the teacher’s expectations and what parents can do to help encourage reading in their child.
Curriculum Impact
At Ann Cam we test our children’s reading skills in a variety of ways
- NFER Reading Test - three a year in Years 3, 4 and 5 and recorded using INSIGHT Tracker.
- Accelerated Reader is used in KS2. All children take a Star reader quiz half termly. The results can be analysed by class teachers, the English Lead, SENDCo and Head teacher. The children will then be given a new reading age and new recommendations for books to read
- Children in EYFS, KS1 and those in KS2 interventions are assessed every half term against the Sounds Write objectives (diagnostic tests), this will inform future groupings and further interventions
- Impact is also measured through end of key stage assessments in EYFS, Year 2 and Year 6 as well as phonics outcomes in Year 1 and Year 2.
- By the time children leave Ann Cam they are competent readers who can recommend books to their peers, have a thirst for reading a range of genres including poetry, and participate in discussions about books, including evaluating an author’s use of language and the impact this can have on the reader. They can also read books to enhance their knowledge and understanding of all subjects on the curriculum and communicate their research to a wider audience.
