Reading
Intent
We believe that Reading is a life skill that every child should be entitled to have. Without the ability to read and decode text, so much is closed off to a child and later as an adult. We want not only to inspire children through books but also to promote a love of reading to empower our children to become life long readers. Books should not be seen as a chore but as a gateway to other worlds, the opening of our imaginations.
‘Vocabulary is like mental Velcro - the more you know, the more 'hooks' you have to hook onto new words’ (Alex Quigley, author of ‘Closing the Vocabulary Gap’.
Our aims for English are to provide a language rich environment that promotes a culture of reading and writing where children develop a love of reading and are confident writers in all genres. During their time at our school, pupils are exposed to a variety of texts which inspire, challenge and engage. Reading class books and 'book talk' are an established part our school day. We passionately believe that teaching children to read and write independently, as quickly as possible, is one of the core purposes of a primary school. These fundamental skills not only hold the keys to the rest of the curriculum but also have a huge impact on children’s self-esteem and future life chances.
Implementation
Reading underpins everything we do at Drighlington Primary School. We value reading as a key life skill and we are dedicated to ensuring children leave our school with a love of reading. Our reading offer focuses on teaching the three key skills needed to help our children read successfully: decoding, fluency and comprehension.
Phonics and early reading
Phonics is at the foundations of reading. In EYFS and KS1 children use the Read, Write Inc (RWI) programme to teach children how to decode and embed phonics. Click here to visit our phonics page.
In Year 2 and KS2, children use Reading VIPERS during whole class reading sessions. Reading is pertinent to all areas of our curriculum so our whole class reading themes and some class texts are also linked to our science/history/geography/RE topics. They read a rich variety of texts and use these to develop the key reading strategies of:
- Vocabulary (find and explain the meaning of words)
- Inference (to be able to find answers to questions using what we already know about the text)
- Prediction (to be able to explain what you think will happen next from what you already know about the text)
- Explanation (explain use of language, themes and patterns that develop across the text)
- Retrieval (to retrieve information and show you have fully understood the text)
- Summarising/Sequencing (to identify the key points in a text or put them in order)
Here are some examples of our lessons in whole class reading. The order and content of units can change depending on children's needs.
year five whole class reading example
year three whole class reading lesson example
Reading for pleasure
Reading for pleasure is a key element of our whole class ethos. This can be led by an adult, independently or with peers. As soon as pupils join our school, they are exposed to a variety of high quality texts to engage and extend. Our whole school reading spines have been designed to ensure there is a diverse representation of authors and themes.
All pupils have personal reading books which they take home each day to practise reading and develop a love of books. Children choose books from their class libraries, which offer a range of genres and titles that appeal to their interests and embed a love of reading. Adults and children regularly get together to discuss books and share recommendations.
We work closely with Leeds Schools Library Service to ensure we offer high quality and engaging texts. We also have a central school library, which teachers use to supplement their class libraries.
Parents and children are also included in a range of reading themed activities throughout the year and our annual Advent themed reading challenge is particularly popular in the run-up to Christmas!
Impact
Through the teaching of systematic phonics, we aim for children to become fluent in all phonics sounds by the end of KS1. This way, children can focus on improving comprehension and overall reading fluency as they move through KS2. Through engagement in reading, children build up a bank of rich vocabulary which they use in their writing and spoken language. Underpinning all of this is an environment which promotes a love of reading meaning children leave Drighlington Primary School as life long readers.
How you can help your child at home
Children should read their school reading book regularly at home alongside a variety of texts that interest the child.
Click here for a leaflet on how to promote a pleasure of reading at home.
Partnerships with parents and carers is an important part of Drighlington Primary School. Working closely with parents enables us to ensure parents feel confident that their child is safe, well looked and is receiving a high quality education during their school hours. The links below offer a range of resources that may also be useful to families.
Read, Write, Inc Phonics Guide for Parents
Is Your Child Struggling to Read?
Places to visit
Local Libraries
Our little free libraries in the school grounds
The Rainbow Factory - a story telling wonderland
Further support and useful weblinks
Early Years Development Matters
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum